Song of the West
by ophelly
Summary: AU. Outcasted and abused by her fellow villagers, seventeen-year-old Rin finds refuge with the legendary Inu no Taisho and his handsome but hateful son Sesshomaru. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING:** This chapter does mention a sexual act, but nothing _explicit_ /worthy of an M rating. It's going to be the last scene of this nature for a while, anyway. In later chapters, this story will contain darker themes like gore, war, and abuse; until then, I'm going to keep this story to a T rating.

As this is an AU, all characters will be _human:_ no yōkai, no hanyō, etc. I'd say that this is more of a faux historical fic if anything.

 **DISCLAIMER:** I don't own the _Inuyasha_ franchise! This story is purely for fun!

Edit: 9/30/18; just updated it to omit some grammar mistakes and improve flow!

* * *

 **SONG OF THE WEST**

an Inuyasha fanfic

* * *

 **i.**

Rin adored the summer festival. She loved the tumult of the village, the way that everybody-the old and the young, merchant and farmer-seemed to work together to make sure that the festival was the charming, prosperous event that it had been for centuries. Seeing people from far and wide flock to the city to set up their wares brought back fond memories: Rin and her elder brother walking hand in hand with grand hopes and dreams after a season of sorrow. Nothing but indigent, orphaned gamines, they had no money to afford food, much less expensive fabrics and jewels. They merely enjoyed strolling along, listening to the ballads of great heroes and their conquests, and pretending that they were the wealthy children of some great lord.

Even though Rin had been forced to watch the festival from afar in recent years, she remembered fondly its sights and sounds.

"Hurry up." An impatient voice said, disrupting her reverie. At the mouth of the alleyway, a dark-haired boy stood with his back to her, watching for any potential intruders. "My father will be looking for me soon."

Rin whined as his friend gave his last few thrusts, the music from the festival across the river from her village serving as her only comfort. The ground was hot and hard, and the boy smelled of something that was making her nauseous. Relief washed over over her when she felt him pull away, his foul breath a ghost on her neck and shoulders. Quickly, he pushed her from him and groaned as he stood.

"Congratulations," the dark-haired boy mocked, "you've finally lost your virginity-to a hired girl, but a girl nonetheless. How do you feel?"

Rin put one hand on the wall beside her to pull herself off the ground. After adjusting her worn yukata, she slowly turned to face him, her doe-eyes inspecting both boys in want.

"Be quiet," he spoke sternly to his friend. By the looks of it, he wanted to avoid meeting Rin's eyes at all costs. When his friend had brought her to him, he had been less bashful. She had easily recognized him as the youngest son of a farmer in her village, a boy only a few years older than her. He was left behind while his father and elder brothers attended the festival to sell their late-spring wares. She had seen him staring at her with a frightful intensity for the past few days. As much as she didn't want him to come, she desperately needed the money for food. Though she knew that the excitement of the festival was the best time to steal what she needed, but the locals were now keen to her tricks. It was precisely why the boy's father had left him behind. Rin had been caught and punished too many times already; she did not want to end up with any missing fingers.

The dark-haired boy laughed. The farmer's boy, finally finished with his yukata, looked up at Rin with anxious eyes.

"Give her the money," he spoke to his friend.

There was something sinister in the dark-haired boy's eyes as he walked over with a small burlap sack. "For your hard work," he mocked, holding out the money for her to take.

As Rin reached forward, he snatched it back. Laughing, he emptied some of the coins onto the dusty earth. Rin could hear the other half clinking together in the bag.

"I'll return with the rest later." He leered before walking away. With nod, the farmer's boy followed after him with no words to spare.

Rin waited for a few seconds to make sure they were gone before crouching to inspect her wages. By now, she was all too familiar with these quick exits. It would be dishonorable to be seen with her.

The money would be enough to buy herself a small meal for the day. In one swift movement, she gathered the coins and stood.

The afternoon sun bathed her face in warm gold as she emerged from the alleyway and onto the main road of her village. If any of the townspeople saw her, they paid her no mind. Rin liked it this way. Many were too busy watching the train of festival-goers and merchants pass through with their elaborate wagons and prized horses to throw any dirty looks at a village whore.

To get to the city where the festivities were to be held, one had to travel by the road that divided the little village into two neat halves. It allowed its inhabitants to see all sorts of exotic people and objects from all different areas of the country.

Though Rin had a strong desire to stop and observe the passing cavalcade, her stomach demanded most of her attention. She nimbly began to make her way through the throng and over to a small food vendor nearby. The owners of the shop had sharp tongues and charged her more than they should for such a small amount of food, but they were the only people in the village who would accept her pelf. The shop was typically busy around that time of day, but the excitement of the festival had drawn all of its usual customers elsewhere, which meant that Rin would be able to purchase her meal with relative ease. The shopkeeper did not allow her to come around when she had customers out of fear that the community would shun them for catering to a prostitute.

As Rin drew nearer, she saw that the shopkeeper's daughter, a stout pregnant woman with a plain face, was speaking to another young lady. She wore finer clothes than what was usually seen in the village; Rin wondered if she was the wife of a merchant.

Both women noticed her at the same time. The eyes of the merchant's wife fell on her with awkward scrutiny, as if appraising her. Rin felt her face heat up. She probably smelt of intercourse and whatever strange aroma the farmer's boy had bore. Meanwhile, the shopkeeper's daughter's anxious gaze flitted back and forth between Rin and the merchant's wife.

"Take your business elsewhere, whore," she spat. "We have no need for the likes of you."

Rin's stomach growled violently in response. She pursed her lips. "I have the money-"

The shopkeeper's daughter grew flustered. "How dare you talk back to me! You saw that we were in the middle of a discussion, unless you're blind and deaf too. Begone!"

If she stayed to argue with the woman, to defend whatever shreds of honor she had left, there was a chance that she would never be able to get food in this village again. As she turned away, the pregnant woman began to speak to the merchant's wife again.

"She's just some cheap whore, ma'am. A thief, too! She and some boy arrived here years ago. I guess their folks died from that plague…"

"And she's been leeching of the village ever since?" The merchant's wife asked.

The shopkeeper's daughter hummed her approval. "She's probably fucked three-quarters of the boys in the village by now. I wouldn't be surprised if she single handedly spread another disease. She's cursed after all."

The villagers always spoke ill of Rin, so the woman's words came as no surprise. Even still, she could feel both shame and pique growing inside of her. She could feel the leers of the two women as she walked away.

Suddenly, the merchant's wife gasped. "It's the Inu no Taishō and his son!"

The two women froze. At the same time, it seemed as if a tense, fearful fog had descended upon the villagers, sending them into a state of quiet terror.

A handsome man, or the "Dog General" as the merchant's wife had breathed in a terrified whisper, sat bestride a large black horse riding at a relaxed pace. Though his frightful golden eyes gazed forward at the road before him, his mouth moved as if he were talking to someone beside him. Even from her position far behind the crowd, Rin could not miss the sword at his hip or the more massive blade attached to his back, albeit hidden behind his long, silver hair.

"I've heard he and his clan are direct descendants of the moon goddess _Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto_ ," the shopkeeper's daughter said, running her hands over her stomach out of awe-inspired nerve.

"I've heard that said about his son and the Lady," the merchant countered. "As for the Inu no Taishō, I was told that his ancestors were trained by the goddess' brother _Susanoo-no-Mikoto._ "

The person beside the Inu no Taishō looked like someone out of a dream, one of the imagined princes from her youth. His hair and eyes bore the same hues as those of the Inu no Taishō's; thus, it was eyes to note that the two were related. Though the Inu no Taishō seemed to be in his late thirties or early forties, the man who rode beside him was noticeably younger, perhaps in his early twenties. For a moment, he seemed only to be concerned with the hushed words of the Inu no Taishō, paying the crowd no attention. Then, for some inexplicable reason, he turned and met Rin's gaze for a fraction of a second…

 _Before turning up his no in absolute disgust._

Rin's faced burned bright hot red. Somehow aware of his son's sudden indignation, the Inu no Taishō turned to face Rin, his brow raised. Before he could get a better look at her, Rin had already disappeared into a small alleyway.

The shopkeeper, also noticing Rin's sudden flight, began to snicker. "It seems that her charms do not work on every man."

* * *

Rin's day when as it usually did: much discomfort with very little in return. On top of that, she was still hungry. Today had been one of the better days, though. Despite the shopkeeper's daughter's rejection, she had managed to earn money for food. Other days had not been so kind to her. Every day she went without facing too much wrath was a benison. Verbal abuse was something she could handle; she didn't know how much more physical damage her already starved, delicate frame could take.

Exhausted and sore, she slowly began to trek through the village's various alleys and back towards her makeshift home: a neglected hut on the outskirts of the village. Save for a blanket, an old tatami mat, and a small box at the foot of it, the Rin's hut was pitifully empty. All she had left to remember her family by was the wooden comb that her brother had left behind.

With pain in her eyes, Rin clutched the comb to her chest. It had once belonged to her great-great-grandmother, who had passed it down to her daughters until it ended up in the hands of Rin's mother. Though it brought back some good memories, it brought many horrible ones.

Rin's parents and baby brother were the first to die when the plague hit their tiny village by the sea. Many said it started with the fish or something else in the water; whatever it had been, it moved stealthily, hitting the whole seaside almost overnight. The symptoms were nightmarish, causing fevers and fits of thrashing and cold sweats. It took only a few days for its victims to perish, foaming at the mouth.

After her family's death, Rin and her brother Tarō were placed in the care of their father's sister and her children. Weeks later, they too succumbed to the mysterious illness, leaving the two siblings to fend for themselves. With half of the village dead and the rest on the verge of dying, her brother thought it best to move on. He had been twelve, six years older than she; he reasoned that he could find work. It had only taken a few weeks for the pair to trade what little their family had owned for shelter, food, and transportation. Her memory became fuzzy at this point, but she could vaguely remember the long wagon rides as they bounced from village to village. That was how they had ended up in the little village she was now trapped in. The comb, the last symbol of their old life and family, was the only thing her brother could not bear to pawn.

It had been decade since her brother had told her that he was going to work, only to never return. The little girl had gone looking for him when it became apparent that something was wrong. Every person she had asked said they had not seen him. Some people were telling the truth, while other did not want to be bothered with a dirty orphan.

Rin gently placed the comb back into its box next to the tatami mat before lying down on her side. She released a small shudder before willing herself to sleep.

* * *

When the sun finally started to disappear behind the hill sand she could no longer bear her aching stomach, Rin decided take another chance with the shopkeeper's daughter. The storefront was now barren; the only people there were the shopkeeper's daughter and her mother, both cleaning dishes.

With one hand on her swollen stomach, the shopkeeper's daughter clicked her teeth as Rin approached the counter. "Mother, look who's back. I had to send her away when she interrupted my conversation with a merchant's wife," she said. "Now she's back to waste more of our time."

Her mother huffed and turned to Rin. "Do you have any money, girl? My husband's not around for you to tempt for food."

Rin nodded and laid the coins on the counter. She could only watch as the older woman scrutinized her wages is.

The mother laughed. "This is nowhere near enough!"

Rin's brows furrowed. She might not have had an education, but she was not stupid. "This is the same amount I gave you a few days ago."

The older woman crossed her arms. "We've raised our price."

"Do you take us for fools?" The shopkeeper's daughter growled. "You steal one of our bowls and now you're arguing with us about the price?"

Rin's stomach growled right back at her. The young girl was growing desperate-if she didn't eat soon, she would certainly pass out. Her gaze snapped towards the shopkeeper's daughter. "I never stole your bowls," she raised her voice, pushing the coins towards them. " _Please._ I just need a little bit of-"

The shopkeeper's daughter grabbed Rin's wrists and yanked them towards her, causing the young girl to stop and wince. "You're the only one who would do something like this!" She hissed. "Do you realize we could have these pretty little hands cut off right here for your thievery? And then have you flogged on top of that!"

"Now, that seems to be too barbaric a punishment for being short of coin, doesn't it?" A voice said, out of Rin's view.

Rin saw the mother's face turn completely white. She yanked her daughter away from Rin before bowing deeply. "Good afternoon, Inu no Taishō-sama!"

The living legend himself had managed to sneak up on the trio in the midst of the mayhem. He still had on the armor he was wearing earlier, as if he had stopped by on his way to battle. He was just as tall and handsome as he appeared from far away, his long silver hair blowing gently in the afternoon breeze. He stood with his hands behind his back.

"We're terribly sorry we didn't have time to prepare anything for you, my Lord!" the shopkeeper's daughter said. "We weren't expecting you!"

The Inu no Taishō turned his sharp eyes towards the accused. Despite his fearsome appearance, Rin noticed that there was a bit of warmth in his eyes. She bowed her head in reverence and shame.

"So," the Inu no Taishō started, "did you steal one of their bowls girl?"

Rin shook her head. "I have no idea what they're talking about."

"Don't listen to her. She's a known liar." The older woman said sharply.

"We have proof too! We count the bowls each night. She came around earlier trying to get free food and I sent her away. She left only after making a scene." The daughter spoke.

"And you both are certain she is the only one in this village that could have taken it?" The handsome man spoke slowly, testing them.

The mother hesitated. "...well, yes. She's been stealing and whoring for food since she first stepped foot in the village. She's probably stolen from everyone by now.

Too tired and ashamed to argue, Rin kept her eyes on the ground. She could feel a hard lump of despair rising in her throat.

The Inu no Taishō paused for a moment, his gaze flickering back and forth between Rin and the two women. Finally, with brows furrowed, he brought his hands from behind his back to revel two halves of a broken bowl.

Eyes wide, the shopkeeper's daughter began to stutter. "H-how did you-"

"I saw some children playing with it on the way here. Quite dangerous," he said, glancing at a surprised Rin. His golden eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement.

"It seems as if we were wrong," the shopkeeper's wife bowed again. "We're sorry for wasting your time, my Lord."

She then turned to face her daughter, who hung her head in shame. "Prepare some food for him girl! Hurry!"

The shopkeeper's daughter nodded and quickly began to prepare him a plate.

The Inu no Taishō let out a relaxed breath. "If anyone deserves a meal, it's the accused. She looks as if she's ready to swoon."

He placed a large silver coin on the counter-top next to the broken bowl, and gave the mother a sly grin. "Will this be enough?"

Her eyes nearly bulged from their sockets at the sight of the large coin. "This is more than enough!"

With a wolfish grin on her face, the shopkeeper's daughter slid Rin a plate of meat, rice, and vegetables, a step up from her usual meal of pottage. The sight of it nearly brought her to tears.

The Inu no Taishō gave her a warm smile before turn leave. "Enjoy the festival."

Then, he was gone.

* * *

 **A/N:** Gosh, I don't know how this chapter ended up being 3000+ words! The draft for the first half of this has been collecting dust in iCloud for almost a year. I don't know if I'm going to be able to update this regularly, but I'll try! I already have an outline for the second chapter, so it should take too long.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the title _Song_ _of the West_ , so if it changes between now and the next update, don't be surprised.

I was a bit nervous to post this since I haven't written in such a long time. Be sure to let me know how you liked this chapter/the story concepts/the characterizations so far! I'm willing to accept any constructive criticism :)


	2. Chapter 2

_**a/n:**_ Oh my god, it's already been a month since I last updated this story! I'm sorry it took me such a long time to write this chapter. I had to make time for both the SAT (June 3) and the ACT (June 10). I had planned to have this chapter out June 11, but my dog of ten years passed away. I spent the week after that mourning and hanging out with my friends.

Before I start, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed, and even favorited this story so far. Your kind words are very much appreciated! This chapter is dedicated to you all.

 _Lil'Conqueror, Taco-sama, Guest (May 27), 1111, Guest (May 29), .73, Guest 111, Guest (Jun 4), ktvalmiri, Guest (Jun 11):_ Thanks so much! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

 _Gwenally:_ I'm glad you enjoyed this! I hope you enjoy my portrayal of Sesshōmaru!

 _Guest (May 26), jj:_ Thanks for reviewing!

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own the Inuyasha franchise. This story is purely for practice and fun!

Edit: 10/03/18 A quality increase - I deleted some of the wordiness and fixed consistency issues with the spelling of Tōga and Sesshōmaru's names. I also continued to procrastinate on writing the fifth chapter.

* * *

 **SONG OF THE WEST**

an Inuyasha fanfic

* * *

 **ii**

After her meal was finished and the momentary kindness of the mother and daughter had lapsed, Rin set out, stomach well-nigh tumid and aching from her miniature feast, towards the festival to find the Inu no Taishō.

She wanted to thank him.

She knew it was only mere naivety that made her believe it would be as easy to encounter him a second time as it was the first, but even if things didn't go as planned, she wanted to say she at least attempted to show some sliver of civility to the only individual to treat her with kindness in years.

Still cool and moisture-laden from the rain that had fell a week before, the woodland was silent save for the chirping of crickets and Rin's own bare feet slopping through the mire as she followed the trail to the bridge. Flames danced in their ornate wooden enclosures perched within the trees, throwing shadows all about the landscape. The merchants across the river often placed lanterns along the trail during festivals to aid any nighttime travelers, but she would know the way even without them. She had scoured the forest many times for berries as a child, with only the starlight to guide her. Ruts from wagon wheels were still visible ahead, but there were no others on the path at that moment, nor did she have anything to offer in exchange for a ride if they came. Ghosts of animal tracks occasionally crossed between the wheel tracks, but the two-day onslaught of traffic had long since dispelled any threat from the fauna. Rin was truly the only soul in the forest.

That didn't stop the feeling of dread from crawling up her spine. There was an unusual eeriness that blanketed the forest like a thick smog, as if the trees themselves were observing her every move. Turning back now would mean spending more time with the trees than if she were to continue, for she could finally see where the forest ended and the trees began. With a sigh of relief, Rin stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight. She took the time to rid her bare feet of mud in the river before stepping onto the wooden planks, careful to watch for splinters. In her current state of poverty, an infection was the last thing she needed.

To her delight, the festival had not lost its charm, even after so many years. A temporary settlement of travelers had burgeoned on the outskirts of the city, littering the riverbank with tents and tatami. The abundance of ostentatious decorative lanterns joined together to create a golden aureole over the area that could be seen for miles. Sounds of the _koto_ , along with a choir of one thousand voices, each one with its own regionalism, wafted throughout the light's amplitude. She observed everything with childlike wonder: merchants sold their goods as quickly as moneyed men demanded them; women fawned over flowers and fabrics and fragrances; children ran through the streets playing with strange knickknacks; and servants rushed to and fro, serving viands and packing items in carts.

It was then, as she not-so-gently began to shove her way through the horde of people, that she realized finding the Inu no Taishō would be impossible. The city was much too large for her to take on alone. .At this very moment, he could be submerged within the crowd, resting in one of the dozens of inns, or perhaps dining with the small lord of the city.

Ever the idealist, Rin continued on through the noise. Wading to the side of the main road, she ducked into the less crowded alleyways, where stragglers reveled and committed dishonorable acts in plain sight. As quiet as a spirit, she slipped past drunken men and women of ill repute like her but with more beauty. From their clothing, she could tell that they too were simple village people with no more wealth than she had, who had come to the festival to momentarily escape a lifetime of tilling land or mending clothes.

The end of the passage led her to two small children, waifs like her, resting on the ground. The oldest of the pair sat with a box in her hand, watching closely as her young relative played nearby. Images of her and her brother all those years ago appeared in her mind as she dropped the bag of coins that she shopkeeper's daughter would not accept into the girl's box. Startled, the girl looked up at her with bright blue eyes. Rin gave her a gentle smile and continued her journey.

Time passed. As the alleyways became narrower and the crowds scarcer, Rin found herself near the edge of the large city. A woman yelled orders to servants at a nearby inn, and Rin cringed as she walked past.

"Move along!" she shrieked into the cool summer night's air. Scullions were rushing different ingredients into the kitchen, all while dodging physical abuse from the plank-wielding, howling woman. "The master will have all our heads if we don't get this food to the Inu no Taishō on time!"

In that fragment of a second, the woman's shrill voice became kind to Rin's ears, transforming itself into a sweet birdsong that would lead her straight to the God-made-man himself.

The woman's fearsome gaze turned towards Rin as if she could sense her glee. Brandishing the wooden plank, she slowly began to move forward. "Begone, beggar!" she boomed. "There are no leavings here for you. Go!"

Rin flitted from the alleyway and onto the main road before the inn. There weren't many people out and about in this area, and those who were were mostly domestics. From the corner of her eye, Rin could see a group of well-dressed people unpacking ornamented chests from an equally ornamented wagon. She could hear the distant clink of the objects inside of them. Elsewhere, a woman with layers upon layers of exquisite, beautiful dyed clothing and a voluminous hairstyle full of fripperies entered a nearby building, flanked by two women and armed guards. Other people of similar dress strolled to and fro, chatting in the streets. When a group of wealthily-dressed girls her age began to gawk and point at her, it became painfully obvious that she was in the more aristocratic section of the city.

Rin knew that the building would be toilsome to sneak into by its look alone. Its grandiosity certainly made it a hotspot for wealthy visitors: the inn was a massive six-story structure, half on the flat land and half on the hill, with golden _shibi_ on each level and a _hanagawara_ at its apex that glowed in the light. A stone stairway led to the large red wooden doors with golden handles that served as its entrance, and each window was lit by a candle. The whole thing was more of what Rin imagined to be a castle than an inn.

Peeking into the now empty alleyway, Rin began to look for a way to slip inside. The small gate to the kitchens had been left open. Rin could hear the chatter of the servants; however, the shrieking woman was not among them, so she took that opportunity to glance inside. The servants were cooking and cleaning, the sliding of the _shōji_ a constant sound. Quietly, she stepped further into the kitchen.

"Hey!" Someone yelled. Rin turned to see a young woman with light brown hair and sharp eyes staring at her. She was dressed in servant's garb. "What the hell do you think you're doing? We need as many working hands as possible tonight!"

By some unbelievable chance, she must have thought she was speaking to a servant. Rin nearly sighed in relief.

The young woman stared at Rin peculiarly before grabbing two trays of food and shoving it into the vagrant's hands. "Take these to the rooms on the fifth level. Listen carefully—the one in your left hand goes to the very first room on your left, while the other goes to the very end of the hallway. The last thing we need is a rich pig's servant stumbling down here to tell us the orders are wrong."

Surprised at her sudden streak of good fortune, Rin nodded, bowed without a word, and went to deliver the food. All she had to do now was _find_ the fifth level and avoid the violent mistress from the alleyway.

The hallway that separated the kitchens from the main building was lengthy and lined with _shōji._ Just enough faint light spilled through the diaphanous paper for the servants walking back and forth to see. The very last _shōji_ had already been slid open and directed Rin to a small set of steps that, in turn, led to another lovely but seemingly endless hallway. Anxiously, Rin took a deep breath and continued towards a pair of voices at the end of the hall. Two serving girls were carrying empty trays back to the kitchen.

"Have you had a chance to see the young Lord?" One girl asked.

Her friend swooned. "I have! His looks put the moon and stars to shame! He looked irritated when he left, though."

The servants didn't even notice her as they passed. _Young Lord,_ Rin thought, _they must be talking about his son._ Hearing of his absence eased her neves slightly.

After many minutes of endless halls and stairs, she eventually made it to the fifth floor. All was quiet, save for the occasional girlish giggle and deep recognizable voice from the very end of the hall.

 _The Inu no Taishō's suite!_

She quickly placed the tray in her right hand at the door at the left, just as the young servant had told her, before rushing to the end of the hall. Rin could see shadows moving behind the near-translucent _shōji._

She rapped the screen door softly. The laughter inside dwindled quickly, and she could hear the shuffling of clothes and the soft thud of a cup hitting the table before a convivial male voice boomed: "Enter!"

Startled at the sudden loud voice, Rin made haste to slide open the _shōji._ In the middle of the large room bedecked with all sorts of furniture, pottery, and art, the Inu no Taishō sat at a long table with two glamorous women at either side of him. Even without his mountain of armor, he was an overawing figure: when sitting, he was still a towering man who emitted vigor and charm. He lounged comfortably in his blue and white kimono, his red _hanjuban_ peeking out around his neck. A blue riband faithfully kept his long white hair from obscuring his mature, handsome face.

The two accompanying him donned raiment similar to the peeresses Rin had seen strolling outside the hotel. Their perfectly painted faced told her that they viewed her with contempt, both for her destitute appearance and for interrupting their chat with the legendary Dog General.

The Lord in question, however, seemed both surprised and pleased with her unannounced visit.

"Why," he chirped, thick brows raised with mirth. "Good evening."

The intensifying glares of the two women made her timid.

"I have your food," she spoke softly.

The Inu no Taishō grinned at her mousiness before turning to his companions. They gave him a quick, deferential bow before shuffling past Rin. With them absent, the young girl could breathe a bit easier.

The Lord motioned for her to bring the food forward. Rin mustered what little grace she possessed and walked towards the table.

"Forgive me for interrupting," Rin said as she placed the tray on the table.

He shrugged. "No need. I was growing quite bored of them."

His eyes concentrated on something across the table. It was only then that Rin noticed an extra _zabuton_ , cup, and plate.

"It seems my son is still too busy brooding to join me for a proper meal," he nodded to the empty space. "Sit! You look famished."

She awkwardly did as she was told. The Inu no Taishō uncovered the trays to reveal beautifully arranged rows of meat, rice, fruits, and vegetables. Rin's eyes grew wide as he began to shovel a large amount of food onto her plate. She was not used to such extravagance; she was still recovering from the food he purchased for her earlier that day.

"Inu no Taishō-sama—"

 _Lord Dog General._ He briefly laughed at the strange titel. " _Tōga_ is my true name, child."

Rin colored at her mistake. "Tōga-sama." She kept her eyes focused on the blue stripes on his sleeve. His gaze was too intense to stare at directly. "I don't mean to waste your night. I just came to thank you."

"You mean to say that you walked from your village and through the entire city just to express your gratitude?" Lord Tōga asked. He had moved away from serving food and was now pouring tea into her cup.

Rin couldn't recall the last time she had tea. Every winter since her family's death and brother's disappearance had been spent with boiled water. It had a naturally sweet scent that pleased her.

"If that is so," he continued, moving on to his own cup, "then you are much nobler and more dedicated that most of the Lords in this land."

He set the _tetsubin_ down on the table. "The owner of this establishment familiarized my son and I with all who would be serving us―for security, as you can imagine. If I recall correctly, I did not see your face, and you certainly aren't wearing the uniform required for those working here. Yet, this hotel supposedly has the best security in the region. How did you get in?"

Rin shuffled uncomfortably on her _zabuton._ She hadn't even noticed any guards on the way in. "...I guess I was lucky."

" _Lucky_ indeed." He gave her a pearly white grin. "You've made it her, so you might as well stay a while. What is your name?"

From there, they spoke and continued to eat―Lord Tōga somehow eating everything on his plate while Rin poked at all she could muster for his sake. They discussed the festival, mostly: what was being sold, what activities there were, the size of the crowd. Rin told him all she could remember.

When she could finally hear crickets chirping and the _tetsubin_ was empty, the little urchin decided it was time to return to reality.

"I should leave," Rin spoke, "before it gets too dark."

Lord Tōga stood, offering her a steady hand. "I'll escort you, then. It seems I have nothing else to do."

As they started to stroll down the beautiful well-lit hallway, Rin mused on this small adventure. When she woke up that morning, she had not imagined that she would be talking to such an important man by the end of the day.

A silly question began to tickle at her brain. "Tōga-sama?"

He hummed.

"Why do they call you the Inu no Taishō?"

"Many reasons," he took a deep breath and shrugged. "It's an old name, someone slightly rude that evolved into an honor. I suppose―"

A loud creak came from the Inu no Taishō's suite, interrupting him and startling Rin. Lord Tōga's eyes narrowed.

"Tōga-sama?" Rin spoke hesitantly.

With brutish urgency, Lord Tōga grabbed Rin by the waist and flung them both down the hallway. A forceful roar ripped through the floor, making the grand hotel quiver under its strength. The scent of smog burned her nose and throat.

Lord Tōga muttered a plethora of expletives before standing. "Are you hurt?" He asked roughly, his fiery gaze searching her frail form for any injuries.

Rin, despite the stiff pounding in her head, said no. The other end of the hallway had been bedimmed by a pall of smoke and char. When the Inu no Taishō turned to look into the darkness, she saw a large piece of shrapnel protruding from his upper arm.

She blinked, watching as the blood slowly oozed from wound. "You're hurt."

He continued to stare into the dark mass, which was now slowly dissipating. Absentmindedly, he replied: "Only a flesh wound."

Then, to her surprise, he stepped forward into the smog. For a moment, Rin bounced from foot to foot in anticipation and fear before she felt she had no choice but to follow him.

The explosion had blown a gaping hole in the building, exposing the room to a hazy view of the gardens behind the inn. The once peaceful nighttime air was now fraught with fearful screams and pandemonium. The Inu no Taishō seemed to balance himself on the edge of the destruction and stood, hands akimbo, with his eyes focused on the ruin below. Curious, Rin peered over as well.

In the artificial pound of the promenade gardens behind the hotel, a group of lone corpses floated alongside bits of shrapnel. Bloated and bloody, their faces with marred with expressions of abject terror, their throats gashed from ear to ear. Some didn't have faces at all.

Now, Rin was no stranger to dead bodies. She had seen countless in the wake of the plague that had struck her home village many years ago. Still, she had never seen someone so horribly brutalized and tortured.

She slowly backed away from the scene. She would have lost her meal as well if she had not felt an iron grasp on her forearm wrenching her rearward with enough strength that she was sure her arm had been rent from its socket. Gradually, her fear-filled eyes followed the trail from his hands to his face, over ivory skin and expensive silk. It was the Inu no Taishō's son, his recognizable white locks cascading over one shoulder. The golden eyes that had regarded her with contempt mere hours ago now bore all the malefic ire that his winsome, dispassionate visage would not.

"Chichi-ue," his voice was deep and as austere as his expression. He continued to glare at her even as he addressed his father.

The Inu no Taishō crouched to observe the corpse of the nobleman that was now floating in the pond. "Lord Kusakabe and his guard, I assume. All dead for hours. It's Ryūkotsusei's doing, undeniably."

Rin whimpered as she felt the young warrior's nails begin to burrow into her skin. Hearing her distress, his father finally stood to face his likeness, brows furrowed. "Release her, Sesshōmaru. She's a bystander, not an accomplice."

Sesshōmaru directed his gaze towards his father. A few more painful seconds floated away in silence before he loosened his grip.

Seizing the opportunity, Rin did what she usually did when things went awry: she ran. Slipping her petite body beneath Sesshōmaru's arm, she darted down the hallway, bumping into frightened servants as they ushered wealthy patrons outside of the ruined building for safety. All of the beautiful pottery and artwork in the entrance hall blurred into one mass as she made her way through the foyer and entrance hall toward the large red doors.

The scene on the streets was no less chaotic. The joyful music and merrymaking had long since ceased. A multitude of people had begun to crowd around the hostelry, their perturbed murmurs floating through the air.

From the outside, Rin could see the damage much clearer. The gaping hole in the Inu no Taishō's room was merely a portion of the damage: the rooms above and below, as well as a little bit of the foyer, were now exposed to the public eye. The explosion was so close to a load-bearing wall that a support beam was now visible, with some parts of its exterior gone and other parts slowly chipping away. Shrapnel and expensive treasures like fabric and jewelry were now scattered about the streets, but people were too shocked to gather them. Rin was surprised the hotel was still standing. Whoever planted the bomb obviously meant for it to be a smoldering pile of debris.

She released a shaky breath as she attempted to slip into an alleyway to avoid the crowd.

"Hey," a smooth voice called from the mouth of the alley. Rin threw a quick glance over her shoulder.

She had escaped one predator only to end up in the hands of another.

The dark-haired boy who brought his friend to her earlier that day stood before her with his trademark leer on his face. His clothes were a bit disheveled, and Rin noticed a slight sway in his step as he walked towards her.

"I wasn't expected to see you here," he spoke coolly, his dark eyes probing her figure in a way that sickened her. "What did you spend that money we gave you on? Jewelry? Perfume?"

"Not right now," Rin shivered and turned away from him. He grabbed her before she could walk any further.

"I see you got caught in that little surprise we set up." He gazed back at the crowd and the burning building, crushing her small form against his chest. The cruel scent of liquor singed her nose as he spoke. "It was supposed to be bigger, but I guess the idiot forgot to set off the second one. Oh well."

She could hear steady footsteps from around the corner. Fighting, Rin tried to pull away from the boy. He pulled her back roughly by her fingers, causing her to yelp in pain.

"Hey!" He yelled, his face twisted into something monstrous. "I am _not_ finished with you. I told you this morning that I would need you later." He gripped the collar of her yukata in a drunken rage and attempted to tear it from her withered form. "I should have just fucked you earlier when I―"

Rin could feel the young Lord's overbearing presence before she even turned to look at him. Standing near the end of the alleyway in the direction that Rin had been heading before the dark-haired boy had stopped her, Sesshōmaru gazed at the carnal scene before him with palpable apathy. The moonlight caressed his light hair, casting a circlet of light about his head and bedimming his breathtaking features.

"Rin." Her name rolled off his tongue with authority, and she knew he meant for her to come with him at once. Against her better judgement, she allowed her eyes to stray from his face to the sword latched to his hip.

The dark-haired boy, ignorant of the danger in his inebriated state, merely blinked at the intruder. "No way," he huffed.

Sesshōmaru's eyes flitted from her to her assailant, as if he had just noticed his existence. The dark-haired boy's grip tightened.

"You're gonna have to wait," he spat. "I caught her first, and I don't like to sha―"

His vacuous declaration was interrupted by the fell sound of steel cutting through flesh and bone. An inhuman, blood-curdling gurgle escaped the boy as he staggered backward and onto the hard earth. Blood gushed from the side of his neck and the section where his arm once was. The red plasma stained Rin's yukata and dripped from the blade of Sesshōmaru's sword, which neither of the commoners had seen him unsheathe. He stared at the blade with discontent before alighting on a thoroughly traumatized Rin.

"Do not even _think_ about running again," he said coolly, eyes narrowed, as if the situation were a mere annoyance. "Fix your clothes."

During the fracas, the fabric of Rin's yukata had slipped, uncloaking a starveling collarbone and shoulder. In her current fret, she was loth to fix the slip.

As the light in the dark-haired boy's eyes slowly faded and his blood began to amass in a pool around the severed arm near her feet, Rin could faintly make out the steady footfalls of the Inu no Taishō. Lord Tōga took in the scene with a grimace before looking askance at his son.

"Whatever happened to your plan of being _inconspicuous_ , Sesshōmaru?"

"It blew up." Sesshōmaru replied drily.

Prudently stepping around the maimed corpse, Tōga went to Rin's side and gently took her elbow. The girl recoiled.

"I didn't mean for you to scare the poor girl," he reproached.

Sesshōmaru stared at her as if she were the scum of the earth. "Your _poor girl_ seems to be an accomplice."

Tōga glanced at the severed arm. "Then, this is the boy who planted the bomb?"

Rin regarded him with wide eyes. Sesshōmaru had heard the dark-haired boy's words and deduced that she was somehow culpable for the building explosion and the attempted assassination of his father. And from the scathefire in his gaze, she knew that if Lord Tōga had not arrived when he did, he would have dispatched her without hesitancy as well.

Her footing escaped her, and she feel to the her knees at the great Inu no Taishō's boots, ignorant of the blood pool.

"I had no part in this," her voice shook as she spoke. She knew by now she could not appeal to his son. "I swear on my life."

Thankfully, his eyes gleamed with warmth. "You'll soil your clothes even more. Arise."

He helped her on her feet. She did not dare look at Sesshōmaru as she stood.

Lord Tōga stretched and sighed into the hazy night sky. "What a fine mess we have made."

* * *

 **a/n:** This chapter could have easily been longer but I decided to cut it off there for the sake of readability and time. According to WordCounter, this chapter is 4,274 words and takes 15 minutes 32 seconds to read.

Another reason that it took a little over a month to update this (besides the length, of course) is Sesshōmaru. I felt nervous about my portrayal of him; I really wanted to do him justice. If you guys could leave feedback on how I did, I would appreciate it!

Also, how do you all feel about Tōga ? I imagine him to be an amalgam of Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha but with him own charismatic, extroverted flair. So far, I truly enjoy portraying him.

Even though I'm a notoriously slow writer, I want to tell you guys that I have a lot planned for this story. I sat down the other day and made a list of all the Inuyasha characters that I would include in this fic and what their roles will be. I also have a general idea of how this story will end, lmao. I'm thinking about making a playlist of the songs I listen to while writing.

Anyways, remember to leave a comment! I enjoy reading your reactions! I'll try to update soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n:** Special thanks to everyone who has followed and reviewed since the last chapter! If I had known people would like this concept so much, I would have posted the story much sooner! :)

Before I begin, I feel like I need to clarify some things about this story's universe. I'm certain you all remember that I said this would be a ~faux historical fanfic~in the first chapter. For plot purposes, I will not narrow down a set point in Japan's history that everything takes place in. This is why I describe the noblemen as wearing Heian dress (link the specific dress on my profile) even though the inspiration for the setting comes mainly from a mix of _Sengoku jidai_ and _Edo jidai_. I'm also going to use a bit of creative license in regards to how this government works:

There _is_ an Emperor, but they (typically) act as active rulers instead of merely being symbols/puppets. Because of this, a shogun will not be present. There are, instead, three "Great Lords" (we'll call them _daimyō_ ; however, in real life there were about 250+ daimyō under the shogun) who preside over different areas of the country — Lord Tokudaiji (our favorite Papa Dog) rules the "West", Lord Raikatuji (Ryukotsusei) controls the "East", and Lord Katsushika (The Panther King, whose first name will be Keitaro in this story) controls the "North". I made a handy map for this; the link is on my profile! (I couldn't put a direct link because ff was acting funny, so just replace the words in parentheses with the appropriate symbols.) The small area between the three regions not controlled by a daimyō is the capital (the Emperor's palace and the smaller cities/villages in the immediate vicinity).

Within each territory, there are "low lords" who control a city or group of cities and the small villages surrounding them. Lord Kusakabe (the dead guy) and Lord Yukinaga (who'll be introduced in this chapter) fall into this category.

Those gray areas won't come into play for a while, so just ignore them for now.

Oh! I also made some changes to Rin's backstory. I just changed Rin's cousin to a brother. When I initially began the first chapter, I intended to include a plotline where Kagome was Rin's ~long lost cousin~ (shout out to who figured this out like, immediately lol!), but as I was typing the last chapter, I got a better idea.

Enjoy this chapter!

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own _Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale._ This story is merely for fun and practice.

* * *

 **SONG OF THE WEST**

an Inuyasha fanfic

* * *

iii

The peach-gold like of dayspring fell on her face, warming her and casting everything in the small building in a dreamlike glow. Insects hummed near her ear, but she was much too exhausted to swat them away. The roaring pain in her injured hand had waned to a dull throb overnight, and she cradled it close to her chest. A horse whined and stamped its hooves in the adjacent stall. She heard people making small talk on the other side of the thin wall next to her — not nearly as much noise as was expected from the second day of a summer festival, even in the morning. With a small sound of discontent, Rin pushed herself from the unpleasant pile of forage she had fashioned into a place to lie and tiredly went about picking the remnants of dried plant from her hair with her good hand.

She was sure she had fallen to the lowest point of her life.

When the trio had emerged from the hallway the night prior, the traffic on the streets had dwindled significantly. Fearful of any additional attacks, most people had either left or retired to the encampment surrounding the city. Rin, though thoroughly shaken from surviving an explosion, nearly being raped, and witnessing the death of her assaulter, was further disquieted by the silence.

"All will be back to normal overmorrow." Lord Tōga had promised. He pushed her along, prepared to catch her if her enervated legs failed again.

Rin did not know what _overmorrow_ meant, but his voice held warmth, which helped her breathe easier.

Tōga and Sesshōmaru had not planned to stay the night; thus, none of their belongings had been damaged in the blast. The same could not be said for the other noblemen who had chosen the Grand Inn. Servants scrambled about the hotel's foreground, trying to collect the pricey items that had been haphazardly scattered in the clamor. Guards were busy keeping the poor from stealing these treasures. One young guard, clad in light armor, approached Lord Tōga and bowed deeply, his forehead grazing the earth.

"L-lord Tokudaiji!" He stuttered. He seemed to be out of breath from running around. "Lord Yukinaga and the Masters Ishida request an audience with you."

Tōga glanced back at his son. Their twin gazes exchanged words their voices and miens did not. "I will not have her in a cell. Find good shelter for her," he bade before following the guard.

Sesshōmaru had already been walking away by the time Rin turned to face him, his long strides leaving her in his dust. Though exhausted, she quickened her pace. She wanted him to slow himself, but could not seem to find the voice to tell him so. After passing countless buildings, each with dozens of people huddled inside, a small structure came into view. She could make out the sleek silhouettes of animals despite the dim light.

"A horse stable?"

The young Lord paid her high-pitched voice no heed. The small gate opened with a rasp and the pair passed wide-eyed steeds until they finally arrived at the last stall. When Sesshōmaru motioned for her to enter, Rin gawked at him as if he were a specter. A sliver of silence went by before he spoke.

"How foolish of you to assume I would procure another suite just for you to _nap_ in," he said, his lovely deep voice cruel and unforgiving. "I assume you are accustomed to lying on your back in uncomfortable places; sleeping should be no different."

His barb did not fall on deaf ears. Rarely had she ever felt this much irritation towards another person. _Some prince,_ she thought bitterly. Nonetheless, his ireful gaze matched the intensity of her feelings tenfold, and she walked into the stall without another word. She did not try hard to veil her discontent.

Sesshōmaru stayed only to ensure she was inside the stall before vanishing into thin air.

Upon reflection, the overnight stay in the stable had not been _terrible._ Though she was in the same area as the animals, the stench of ordure was surprisingly missing from the air and the barn had been silent most of the night. Plus, she liked horses. She recalled the many times she and her brother had lingered around the stalls, attempting to pet the beasts and fleeing when their owners' would return. One horse, a great dark thing with a lustrous mane and gentle black eyes, had even poked its head over the divider to peer at her with a sagacious gaze from time to time.

She felt a heavy breath on her crown and an uncomfortable tug on her knotted hair. The dark stallion was picking hay from her curls with his teeth, catching her mop in the process. With a nettled groan, she gently began to bop him on the nose.

Two unfamiliar presences appeared behind her, blocking the sunlight. "This must be her." One spoke.

Rin grimaced and glanced upwards to see a pair of city guards staring down at her. They both wore an impassive mask and the light armor of the guard that had spoken to the Inu no Taisho the night before. They gazed at her as if she were a mere plaything. Her blood ran cold.

"Stand!" The other commanded. "We have been ordered to escort you to the trial."

* * *

The trial commenced precisely when it was supposed to. Sesshōmaru silently observed as every nobleman in the city, all dressed upon in _nori_ or _kariginu_ of the finest fabric, filed into the audience hall, stopping to bow in deference to him and his father before taking their seats on the _zabutons_ below.

The Western Lords had not slept at all that night. Though his father had implied that the meeting with Lord Yukinaga and the Ishida brothers would take mere minutes, Sesshōmaru knew the trio would spend hours trying to convince the Great Lord of the West of their innocence.

A servant had been waiting outside the most prominent restaurant in the city to escort Sesshōmaru to the private floor where the distinguished group of men had met. By the time the young man entered the grand room, the tension had reached a palpable state. Tea, water, and sake had been served, but the air was much too fraught to partake of it. Sesshōmaru could feel the eyes of the Ishida brothers, the owners of the ruined luxury hotel, follow him as he walked from the open _shoji_ to the empty _zabuton_ near his father. They would have only been partially prepared to deal with the Inu no Taisho; both he and his son's presence were more than enough to make them squirm. At only twenty-two, the prospective Lord of the West was already known far beyond his borders for his acute callousness.

Quite frankly, Sesshōmaru thought them both milksops.

Lord Yukinaga, with his long visage and reptilian features, was the only one to uphold a veneer of courage. "I would have formally welcomed you to my city, Lord Tokudaiji," he began, giving the Great Lord a slight bow of deference, "if only I had known of your coming. It is not often that a _daimyo_ attends the festival."

"A beautiful city, it is." Tokudaiji Tōga mused. "Unfortunately, I was not able to visit the festival."

Lord Yukinaga smiled and turned to Sesshōmaru. "Did you enjoy it, Sesshōmaru? I was told you were able to attend."

"Passable." Sesshōmaru replied, his coldness radiating from his form.

Lord Yukinaga's smile evanesced instantly. "We sincerely apologize for the… _inconvenience_. Something like this has never happened before. Soldiers have been dispatched all about the city searching for suspects and witnesses."

Izumo, the youngest Ishida brother, worked up the gall to clear his throat. "Two of the perpetrators have been caught."

The Inu no Taisho's thick brow raised in wait.

"Guards apprehended the son of some farmer from the village across the brook, who then named one of the kitchen wenches," the hotel-owner continued.

"There is still a third perpetrator on the loose." Ishida Tatara spoke up. Both brothers were antsy about what the implication of one of their servants could lead to. "Unfortunately, he could be anywhere by now."

The Western Lord glanced at Sesshōmaru, who said nothing. "Fortunately," Lord Tokudaiji jested darkly, "the third perpetrator should not present a problem. I believe he is lying dead in an alleyway."

The Ishida brothers blinked. This time, Lord Yukinaga's brows furrowed. "Forgive me for saying this, my Lord, but it is not…," he fumbled with his words, " _customary…_ in this city to execute without a trial."

Sesshōmaru fought the urge to roll his eyes. _Hericide must be time-honored, then._

His father gave a grin that bared all his teeth. "Of course, Lord Yukinaga. However, the boy showed extreme hostility towards my son and presented a threat to the safety of other civilians. Considering hotel guards failed to capture him at the scene—" amber eyes flickered towards the Ishida brothers, who shuffled uncomfortably on their _zabutons_ "—I assumed that allowing him to roam free would have caused more harm to your _fine_ city."

Silence rang and the tension grew thicker. Lord Yukinaga's pretense seemed as if it were beginning to falter. He nodded, "Well said, my Lord."

"Now," Lord Tokudaiji took a graceful swig of his tea. It was bitter. "You mentioned a trial."

The Ishida brothers looked to Lord Yukinaga to speak again. "It will take place first thing in the morning. We, as well as other nobles affected by the attack, will be in attendance. Since you are the most powerful man in the city, the honor of presiding over the trial will go to you, of course."

An air of contentment fell over the Inu no Taisho. "Excellent. This should be quick."

The criminals themselves were the last two to arrive. The boy was escorted into the room in chains, his yukata a tattered and bloodied mess. His female companion looked significantly less dramatic. The guards roughly pushed them towards the very center of the room before the dais that he, his father, and Lord Yukinaga sat upon. Sesshōmaru could hear small talk of witnesses on the other side of the _shoji_. Why his Lord Father had allowed the little gamine to miss the trial was beyond him.

With all in attendance, Lord Tokudaiji moved to start.

"We shall begin." He spoke, his booming tenor drawing all attention to himself. He glanced at Lord Yukinaga, who sat near him. "As this is your city, I will allow you to lead questioning."

"I humbly accept this honor, my Lord." Lord Yukinaga simpered and bowed his head before turning to the crowd of noblemen. "As you all know, a good portion of the Ishida Inn was devastated by an explosion meant to harm Lord Tokudaiji. Lord Kusakabe was killed in the blast; the hotel and many valuable items were damaged."

A low grumbled passed through the room. Sesshōmaru knew most of them could not care less about Lord Kusakabe's demise — it was their lost chattel they were out to avenge.

"Before you sit Gojo and Aina, two perpetrators of the crime." He gestured towards the commoners, his long silk sleeves flowing gracefully.

"And what of rumors of a third?" One nobleman asked. "Does he still roam the city?"

"The third, a boy named Kahei, died shortly after the blast." Lord Yukinaga replied. "His body is currently in the possession of the Ishida clan."

The tension in the room dwindled after Lord Yukinaga's clarification. The pretentiously dressed man turned back to Gojo, who stared blankly at the floor.

"Gojo has since confessed to his crimes." Lord Yukinaga said. "Do you still stand by your statements, boy?"

"I do," Gojo said. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Kahei and Aina made a plan to kill Lord Tokudaiji and asked me for help. Aina worked at the inn; she helped us sneak past guards and plant the explosives. She also poisoned much of the food."

The faces of the Ishida brothers, who sat closest on the floor to the dais, grew waxen with perturbation as whispers began to fall from the lips of the noblemen. Lord Yukinaga turned to the girl, who sat as still as a statue.

"That is not true," Aina stated calmly. "I was not involved in this plot, Your Grace, and I poisoned no food. If he and Kahei found a way inside, it was without my assistance."

"She lies!" Gojo insisted. "She is the one who received the poison. Search her things, and you will find it."

His father's eyes narrowed. "I was told that merchants were not allowed to sell poison in this city, Lord Yukinaga."

Sesshōmaru had not visited Yobetsu since boyhood, but even he knew that poison had been forbidden in the city for decades. Too many noblemen traveled in and out of the city to take such chances.

"They are not, my Lord." Lord Yukinaga said. "Possession of poison in this city is a criminal offense."

"Then only an outside source could have provided it." Sesshōmaru spoke.

Gojo and Aina's eyes widened simultaneously.

Lord Yukinaga turned to the guard who manned the door. "Send someone to scour the servant's quarters of the inn."

"I did not have poison!" Aina asserted again.

"Then you don't have anything to worry about." Lord Tokudaiji said. "Check her quarters."

Aina pushed her lips forward in frustration. "There is a girl he is trying to protect. She is the one who poisoned the food."

Gojo whirled to face her with an incredulous look on his face, the chains binding his hands clinking against each other.

"A fourth perpetrator!" Lord Yukinaga exclaimed. "Who is this girl?"

"If this talk of poison is true, all the food would have had to pass the _oni no ma_ without fuss that night." Ishida Tatara fiddled with his sleeves as he spoke. "It must have been whoever served your food."

* * *

The mere mention of a trial had seized Rin's heart with fear. Had not the Inu no Taisho pardoned her the night before?

The guards walked fast and with purpose, shoving her along the dirt footpath with none of Lord Tōga's gentleness. Bystanders regarded her with narrowed eyes and twisted mouths, stopping to whisper as she walked by. She was _quite_ a sight to see — her yukata was ragged and soiled with dried gore and char and mud. Judging by how people wrinkled their noses, she probably smelled like a corpse.

The large building the guards led her to was nearly as grand as the hotel, but with a distinct air of austerity she had never before felt. The door opened effortlessly and she was prodded into a long, wide hallway decorated with gorgeous art and pottery. One guard disappeared into a room before her, then peeked his head out and motioned for his partner to bring her forward.

The room itself was massive. Its gleaming wood floors, walls, and columns seemed to glisten in the light that filtered through the translucent paper of the _shoji._ Eminent men clad in luxurious fabrics and hues sat in two rows of _zabuton_ opposite each other, forging a broad aisle that led to a dais at the front of the room. On that raised wood platform sat Lord Tōga and the ever-impassive "prince" Sesshōmaru, both shining bright behind the long table before them. An unfamiliar man sat on his left. Beyond them was a _fusuma_ that bore a breathtaking mural of lush flora and pellucid water, a rose-colored depiction of the forest and river on the path between her village and the city.

Two people of her social stratum sat pitifully in the middle of the room, two jarring antitheses to the resplendence encircling them. They turned to her when the guards led her in. Rin's eyes widened when she recognized the farmer's boy whose virginity she had supposedly taken the day before, muck and ash splattered over his yukata. His hands were in fetters behind him. Alongside him was the girl who had asked her to deliver food to the Inu no Taisho. The guards dropped her unceremoniously next to them before leaving.

All eyes in the room were on her when the unfamiliar man spoke. "You are being accused of aiding in the assassination of Lord Kusakabe and the attempted assassination of Lord Tokudaiji."

She had been wrong about the stables: _this_ was the lowest point of her life.

Rin's heart skipped a beat. "What?" She looked towards Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru. They both had a blank look in their eyes, and the young Lord completely ignored her.

"We were told you delivered poisoned food to the Western Lord and other noblemen last night before the explosion," the man said. There was a hint of annoyance in his tone.

A multitude of eyes bore into her, waiting for a response. Rin could feel the air leaving her body at once. It was _imperative_ that she defend herself now, but she _physically_ could not voice her thoughts. It was as if someone had shoved cloth down her throat to silence her.

Fate, an unexpected ally, came to her rescue.

A guard entered, or rather, was roughly pushed into the room, drawing all attention to the door. Lord Yukinaga's eyes flashed with outrage. " _What?_ "

Embarrassed, the guard gulped, stood up straight, and spoke: "Now entering the second daughter of His Excellency Lord Katsushika, Lady Karan!"

Lady Karan entered the room with a bemused smirk on her face, turning her fan over and over in her tan hands. She was not a beauty, but with her sharp chin and thin nose, her face possessed a certain feline quality that made her striking. Even more arresting was her fiery shoulder-length hair, even shorter than what could pass for pretty in Rin's poor village, and her thick, upwards slanted brows positioned just above eyes as red as her mane. Her clothing was as luxurious and plentiful as the other noblemen's. All on the floor bowed as she walked past, her brown _kiri-bakama_ and light yellow _kazami_ trailing behind her. She showed perfunctory obeisance to Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru when she finally made it to the dais.

"Good morning, my Lords." Lady Karan chirped. There was a boyish manner in her tone and the way she moved that suggested impishness.

"Good morning, Lady Karan," Lord Yukinaga forced a smile and inclined his head. "Was the journey from Hyōkusui pleasant?"

"It was hot. And long. And bumpy." She hit her wooden fan against the palm of her hand as if she were prepared to bludgeon Lord Yukinaga with it. "And when I _finally_ arrive, there is no one to meet me! And all the festivities have been canceled for the day. My journey was all for nothing!"

"We apologize for the inconvenience." Lord Tōga replied. Exasperation had dulled any life in his voice. "What business have you here?"

She frowned at the curt, unfavorable response. "I heard of Lord Kusakabe's death and the explosion at the hotel as soon as I entered the city. I came to witness the trial myself."

"You wish to attend the trial, my Lady?"

"I'm certain my Lord Father would want a representative from Hyōkusui present during a trial to determine who turned one of his vassals into carrion." Lady Karan drawled with utmost confidence.

"This trial is already in session." Sesshōmaru spoke, his voice deep and forthright and saturated with discontent. "Moreover, _girls_ are not allowed to take part in matters of law."

Lady Karan's easy expression lit up like a sudden summer storm. "I'm not some little girl, cousin! I—"

Lord Tōga let out a long sigh and turned to Lord Yukinaga. The small lord nodded and stood from his seat.

"I will bequeath my position to you, Lady Karan." Lord Yukinaga grimaced. Lady Karan flashed a self-congratulatory grin and made herself comfortable on the warm _zabuton._

With a flick of Lord Tōga's wrist, the trial resumed.

"Let us try this again, girl," Lord Yukinaga said, staring her down from where he stood below the dais. "Do you confess to delivering poisoned food to the Inu no Taisho?"

Rin's voice warbled as she spoke. "…I delivered food to the Inu no Taisho, but I don't know about any plot to kill him! She," Rin used her good hand to gesture towards the serving girl, who stared at her with startled eyes, "asked me to deliver it. She said the kitchens were busy, and I helped by serving him his food."

Anxiety had caused the poor, pitiful girl's voice to warble as she spoke, making her words sound very sincere. The serving girl could say nothing to counter this.

"Bring a witness from the hotel kitchens." Lord Yukinaga ordered.

The guards brought in the woman who had yelled at her outside the hotel the night before. She took a quick glance at the pitiful teens in the center of the room as she walked past. When brought before the three Lords and Lady near the dais, she histrionically fell to her hands and knees in deference. Lady Karan grinned at the gesture.

"My Lords and Lady!" she exclaimed. "Please forgive me for the damage done to the festival! I promise you, I knew of no dastardly deed in my kitchen!"

"Stand! You have served us all well in the past. No one doubts your loyalty to this city and the Grand Inn." Lord Yukinaga said. He glanced at Rin, who had begun to grow weary from stress and fatigue. "This is the girl who delivered food to Lord Tokudaiji and other guests last night. Certainly, you are familiar with her."

"The first time I ever saw her was last night, outside the hotel," she said, her gaze steady on Lord Yukinaga's face. "She was wandering near the kitchens. I could tell by her short yukata and _koshishimo_ and the coquettish way she coquettish way she walked that she was some ill-bred slu—"

"You will use _respectable_ parlance in this court." Lord Tōga spoke smooth and stern.

The woman recoiled. "Yes, Your Highness. I thought she came to beg for leftovers, so I chased her off. I dare say she stole into the building while I was away."

Rin's fingers began to throb harshly.

"What was it that forced you to abandon your duties long enough for her to sneak in and deliver food to a highly esteemed guest without being noticed?" A man scolded angrily from the rows of noblemen.

"There were some… _complaints_ last night." The woman visibly shuddered. "Bad tasting food. I had to address them."

"An unusual amount, I bet." The farmer's boy spoke suddenly. "It was the poison! Aina added trace amounts to the food to create a distraction for you."

The woman gasped and whirled to face him. "I have known Aina since her girlhood. She is far more trustworthy than you or that harlot. How dare you attempt to disgrace my word!"

"You claim she gave you trays to deliver." Lord Tōga addressed Rin directly, gently urging her to speak. "Are there any other details you remember?"

Rin thought long and hard of the scene from the night before. Aina had given her two trays to deliver, one for the Inu no Taisho and one for a room at the beginning of the hall. She had been very specific about where to go and who received which tray. In her excitement, Rin had bypassed one of the rooms all together and went directly to Lord Tōga's suite. She had then blindly placed one tray on the table and set the other plate to the side.

Considering they were both alive and well in that grand room, she had thankfully given him the food with trace amounts of poison. She had been too hungry to notice a bad taste.

"She gave me two trays to deliver…" Rin willed her voice to stay. "She was specific about which rooms to take them to. I must have given you a different tray."

Aina tried to speak again. "She's—"

"I can't let this continue," Gojo said. "Aina poisoned the food and is trying to blame it on this girl. She's probably already discarded the bottle. Kahei visited the whore regularly and Aina is attempting to frame her out of jealousy.

"Why," Lady Karan groaned. "This is like bad theatre."

For all her previous coolness, Aina's face turned a blood red at his words. "Slander!"

"Enough!" Lord Yukinaga ordered. "You are making a mockery of this court and a mockery of this city. I should sentence you all to death for insolence."

"I agree!" Lady Karan grinned. "We're wasting our time on this!"

"Lord Yukinaga, Lady Karan." Lord Tōga called. "You both forget that we still do not know where the poison came from, or who killed Lord Kusakabe."

The farmer's boy shifted uncomfortably. Tōga picked up on his unease with almost bestial instinct.

"Is there something you would like to tell us, Gojo?"

"The bottle of poison had Lord Kusakabe's seal on it," Gojo admitted.

The room grew tense again. Lord Tōga frowned, his brows coming closer together. "You mean to implicate a _Lord_ in my attempted assassination?"

Gojo released a shuddering breath but continued. He had long given up on the chance of living to see the next day. "Our plan was never to kill Lord Kusakabe."

"And if his seal was on the bottle meant to kill you, my Lord…" Lord Yukinaga muttered.

"It's simple then! Perhaps he provided the poison and killed himself out of guilt." Lady Karan waved her fan for emphasis, smirking as if she were the smartest person in the room. "He was the mastermind behind the whole thing. Who else could have killed him and his guard without making a noise? And these fools certainly couldn't have come up with this plan."

The noblemen around the room nodded in agreement.

Lord Tōga blinked incredulously. "Lord Kusakabe was a warrior. Do you think he and his guards would have so spinelessly split open their own throats and periled the lives of his wife and children?"

"No one else was caught," Ishida Tatara reasoned. "It would have taken a militia to defeat Lord Kusakabe. Our guards would have seen them."

"For all this talk of guards, I was able to walk in and out of the Inn several times without passing a single one." Sesshōmaru spoke so sardonically one could feel the acid trickling from his words. "Any guard who allows some _waif_ to enter a building with ease is no guard at all. If not for the damage to your building and reputations, and your piteous expressions, I would suspect you tow were involved in the scheme to kill my Lord Father as well."

The Ishida brothers rushed to defend themselves, their discordant words coming together to create a cacophonous mess.

"I think my Lord Father would agree with the Ishidas." Lady Karan looked to the noblemen. "All we have left to do now is sentence them. I'll send a message to my father to tell him about the trial."

Lord Tōga bristled but made no move to protest. "End this then, Lord Yukinaga."

Rin saw Sesshōmaru glance curiously at his father.

Lord Yukinaga looked down at Gojo first, a predatory light gleaming in his eyes. The boy was resigned to his fate. "For your crimes against the kingdom," the low lord began. "I hereby sentence you to death. Your execution will take place this very afternoon."

Rin could feel the gag in her throat again, and when she blinked, she could see her head on the city's walls, a warning to all visitors of the consequences of crime. She had only wanted to speak to the Inu no Taisho; she did not mean to potentially harm anybody. This would not be her last day on earth, would it?

Next was Aina, who now looked as if she were about to vomit. "For lying in the presence of a Lord and dishonoring the court, you will be flogged until you confess your crimes, whereupon you will meet the same fate as your co-conspirators."

The poor hotel mistress shook like a leaf when Lord Yukinaga's eyes fell on her. "Though you were not involved in this plan, you still defended a liar. I believe you are deserving of a few lashes."

She had escaped death, but not the cruel stroke of a scourge. The woman sighed but continued to shake.

Finally, Lord Yukinaga's eyes alighted upon her. Rin felt faint. "As for you—"

"A whore, they said?" Lady Karan interposed, slapping her fan against her palm in an impish, vulturine manner. "They say Hyōkusui's red-light district is beginning to dwindle. But she'll be a hard sell, as underfed as she is."

"It is quite unbecoming of you to speak so much." Lord Tōga did not try to hide his annoyance. As Lady Karan's face reddened with embarrassment and ire, Tōga looked Rin in the eye and continued to speak. "She is to be pardoned."

"P-pardoned?" Lord Yukinaga sputtered. "She was possibly involved in a plot to assassinate you, Lord Tokudaiji."

"Her innocence is obvious." said the Inu no Taisho. "After she served my meal, we broke bread and conversed for a while. When we were done, I decided to escort her out of the hotel, which took me away from the brunt of the explosion. If she had known about the plot, she would have never eaten poisoned food or spoke with me so long. Besides, the poor girl can barely sit down without tiring, much less plot an assassination."

"Forgive me, Lord Tokudaiji;" Ishida Izumo began, "surely this does not erase the fact that she trespassed on private property?"

Lord Tōga waved their concerns away.

Lord Yukinaga conceded, but not without dubiety. "If that is what you wish, my Lord." He turned back to Rin with a grim expression on his face. "His Excellency Lord Tokudaiji of the West as showed you mercy, girl. You should be grateful!"

Rin nodded and bowed deeply. "Thank you, my Lord."

Lord Tōga took a deep inhale of incense. "This trial is adjourned."

* * *

As the noblemen bid their goodbyes and slowly exited the room, Lord Tōga turned to his son, who had begun to stand.

"Sesshōmaru," he hailed. "It is not fitting for her to go around in those clothes. Find her clean clothing and someone to prepare a bath for her."

Sesshōmaru brows rose in contempt at the very idea of running errands for the wench. "There are plenty of public baths in the city."

The genitor rolled his eyes at the implication. "The poor girl is traumatized. The last thing she needs is some lout fondling her in a bath."

"Considering her reputation, I do not think it would be such an issue."

"Sesshōmaru." Tōga reprehended sharply. When Sesshōmaru turned to face his Lord Father, he found that the man's eyes were as hard as amber. Sesshōmaru's own eyes narrowed, but he did not deign to say anything further against the girl. He gave Rin a sharp look as he passed her to exit the room.

As Lord Tōga drew nearer to her, he found his eyes drawn to the hand she so gently cradled. If the smell of her clothes bothered him at all, he did not show it.

"You're hurt," he said. "Let me see your hand."

Rin shrugged and held out her hand for him to inspect. "It's just a bit sore."

Lord Tōga thoughtfully vetted her sore and puffy fore and middle fingers. They appeared slightly contorted. Without warning, he took them in his firm grasp and heaved them into a different position with a grating pop. A loud yelp broke the silence, and the doe-eyed girl felt droplets of water roll down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he said. Her sudden tears startled him. He pulled the blue silk ribbon from his hair and wrapped it around her fingers. Free from their binding, his white tresses fell about his face and shoulders, making him resemble his son even more. His elocution was far more relaxed with her than it was last night or with the noblemen. "Use this until we get to a room. I can't believe you walked around with two dislocated fingers without uttering a word to us."

Rin sniffed. The silk ribbon felt nice and cool. "You were busy," she explained, "and Lord Sesshōmaru…"

Lord Tōga laughed. "Understandable. You must forgive my son. He can be exceedingly uninviting at times."

His icy gaze and mordant words had told her that much.

The Western Lord titled his head back and released a heavy breath. The edges of his profile glowed with sunlight.

"Come on." He said. "You can rest until the execution."

* * *

 **a/n:** I'm sorry that this ends so abruptly! This chapter was originally bordering 9000 words — I split it into two separate sections for quick reading. That trial scene made up the bulk of it and took the most time for me to write. I'm also sorry that there is so little of Sesshōmaru in this. He gets a lot more time in the second half of this chapter, ha.

Speaking of Sesshōmaru, I'm so glad that you all seem to like him and Tōga so far! I'll make sure to write plenty of scenes from his point of view in the future.

See you next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n:** As per usual, I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed my story so far! I can't believe it already has 53 reviews! I never thought that so many people would enjoy it. I'm sorry it took me such a long time to update. Senior year has been rough. I planned to update it before Christmas but I got so caught up in recovering from school that I forgot. Anyways, I've been thinking a lot about this story and outlining some future plot points, so we have a lot in store for us! I'm definitely not going to lose inspiration any time soon!

Let's begin!

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairytale. This story is only for fun and practice.

* * *

 **SONG OF THE WEST**

an Inuyasha fanfic

iv.

* * *

The Inu no Taisho was a busy man, Sesshomaru knew. He kept the peace in the land, traveling back and forth from region to region settling disputes between merchants and lord alike. As a boy, the young Lord had often asked his father why he was so often away from his seat at Inugawa.

I love to roam. His father replied. Some men were not born to lead from a chair.

Though he performed his duties well, Lord Tokudaiji was never quite able to jettison his humble foundations. Quite accordingly, he was known throughout Japan as a 'defender of the people,' revered by the nobility and glorified by the commoners like a folk hero.

Sesshomaru had thought little of Lord Kusakabe's letter when it arrived. To him, it seemed like a small border dispute that Northern Lord Katsushika had failed to do anything about. These incidents were annual occurrences that earned Inujima castle many allies beyond its demesne but kept its Lord away for months on end.

So when his father requested that he accompany him to Yobetsu, Sesshomaru had been caught unaware. Tōga, who had returned two days before, had detected an urgency in Kusakabe's words and desired to discuss the matter in person. He had not told him much else about the issue.

Now, even after eleven days of travel and the dubious murder of the Lord they were meant to meet, Sesshomaru still felt as if his father was hiding something. As future Lord of the West, the young man who had served in Lord Tokudaiji's stead during his crusades as the 'Inu no Taisho,' this vexed him.

Seeing the wench standing so close to his father when he came to address this irritated him even more.

It hadn't taken long for him and his father to secure another room. Though not as grand as the Ishida Inn, it was a decent place to unwind for a few hours. The courtyard was rich with verdancy and the shrill whir of cicadas, but Sesshomaru cared little for aesthetics at that moment.

He had heard the pair before he made it to the room, his long strides forcing the nameless maidservant to jog to keep up with him. The shoji was halfway open for every prying eye to peer inside. Lord Tōga was teaching the girl how to change a bandage, using the wound he had sustained from the explosion as practice. On a low table next to them, rolls of gauze and a black kettle rested at arm's length. The girl moved slowly, still clothed in horrid rags and the smell of animals, her diminutive fingers dressed in gauze too, hindering her progress and making the folds awkward. Seemingly ignorant of her stench, his father coaxed her with utmost patience as if she were a little child learning to walk. Sesshomaru crossed the engawa and, after telling the maidservant to wait where she stood, entered the room.

"Leave." Sesshomaru's voice was half-full with venom. Rin turned to him, startled.

"Not until I have a fresh bandage," Tōga said, swiveling on his zabuton. "Sesshomaru, you would not want your father to succumb to a festering wound, would you?"

"I have matters to discuss with you alone."

"Speak freely, then; she doesn't bite. Besides, she's almost finished."

Rin shuffled as she rushed to finishing the dressing, her fingers stumbling as she worked. When she was done, Tōga glanced at his son and began to fix his robes. "Has her bath been prepared?"

"A maid waits outside for her." Sesshomaru replied.

"Excellent." The older man nodded and turned to her. "Enjoy."

Rin eyed Sesshomaru warily before slipping past him. When her footsteps vanished, he proceeded.

"You have not been truthful with me." The young Lord spoke low to avoid potential eavesdroppers. He moved closer to his father, the footfalls of his boots soft against the tatami floor.

"How perceptive of you, Sesshomaru." Tōga smiled. He grasped the iron kettle from the table and poured two cups of tea for him and his son.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes as his father began to speak. There was a slight scowl on the older man's face and a touch of resentment in his town. "You were right to redirect the conversation when you did. It was maddening how easily they could slander one of their own. Lord Kusakabe and I fought side by side to unite the west all those years ago! What reason would he have to kill me?"

"What reason would anyone have to kill you, Chichi-ue?" Sesshomaru drawled deeply.

Tōga sat silent for a moment, fiddling with the hair he had not bothered to bind up again. "I cannot tell if that was an authentic call for reflection or outright sarcasm. Moreover, you sounded like your mother when you said."

Sesshomaru nearly rolled his eyes and finally took a seat across the table from his father.

"Our eyes saw the same thing, Sesshomaru." Lord Tōga said. "What do you make of this?"

The young man could still see the fresh bodies lying in the courtyard of the Ishida inn, the dark rivers of blood a white gleam in the moonlight. "Those wounds were not indicative of self-trauma. And Lord Kusakabe's body was still intact."

"Precisely. He was a warrior, and his men fiercely loyal. He would have slit open his belly, not his throat. Then, his men would have cut his head off to end his suffering." Irritated, Lord Tōga played with his tea, forcing the hot liquid to swirl round and round in his cup. Hara-kiri was a frightful, gruesome thing. "These Northerners were so hasty to go on with their garish festivities that they drank his story up like baby suckling from their wet-nurse's tit."

"Do you believe this was Ryukotsusei's doing?"

"It is a suspicion," Tōga admitted, "but it's no secret that he is not content with the size of his holdings. It's been this way since you were a babe. With the emperor's new bout of illness and the crown prince's inefficiency, this is the perfect time for him to take advantage and satisfy those needs."

There was a slight pause, and Sesshomaru could hear the cicadas whirring again. Tōga seemed to wait for their silence before continuing.

"Lord Kusakabe has known Ryukotsusei since his boyhood. He probably suspected the same thing. I wonder if Lord Asano knew anything about this. If Ryukotsusei told Raikuji to infringe upon the North, he'd certainly want a piece of the West as well."

There were three small lords appointed to the area where the Northern, Eastern, and Western lands met: Lord Kusakabe, Lord Raikuji, and Lord Asano. The Asanos were a small but old family with more symbolic power than anything else. If any border conflict were to occur, Lord Asano would notify Tōga right away.

"If he did, he died before saying anything." Sesshomaru said wryly. He had attended Lord Asano's funeral in his father's stead. The border lord had died over a fortnight ago, a mere week before the Western Lords set out for Yobetsu. According to his men, the old man expired peacefully from senescence in his bed around midnight, leaving behind his unwed daughter Sara. The air of the burial ceremonies had been fraught with tension as his closest advisors planned how to go on without a male heir.

"What are the odds that the two men who could provide evidence of Ryukotsusei's plans so early on would die within the span of a few weeks?" Tōga chuckled darkly. "We must leave for Asano castle right after the execution. There's no need to send a letter; it's better we surprise them. You will have to escort Rin back to her village to retrieve her things."

Sesshomaru frowned and furrowed his brows. "What?"

"How surprising. Usually, nothing escapes your keen ears." Tōga jested.

The young Lord ignored that comment. "You don't mean to bring her with us."

"Of course I do!" His father almost looked offended. "She is all skin and bones and not long for this world—I doubt she'll make it to winter without intervention. Besides, once the villagers find out she was involved in the trial of that boy, they'll skin her alive."

Sesshomaru scoffed. "So you desire to nurse the girl back to health? She's far too weak for travel, and I doubt she knows how to ride."

"A chance is better than nothing."

"She will slow us down."

Tōga's thick brows knit together. "Sesshomaru," he reproached lowly, "it would do you good to learn some kindness. And don't you dare roll your eyes at me."

Sesshomaru clenched his jaw. "This is a foolhardy attempt at goodwill."

Ignoring the criticism, Tōga took another sip of his drink.

* * *

The warmth of the water, though wholly unfamiliar, was gentle on her sore muscles and aching bones. Rin could not remember her last bath. The river was the only accessible water source near the village, and it was too dangerous for a girl like herself to cleanse there for all to see.

The room that had been prepared for her was small and private. Though it could not have been more than a cast-off storage room for the belongings of the inn residents, it still maintained a luxurious atmosphere the likes of which she had never felt before. When they arrived, the maidservant had crinkled her nose and all but thrown Rin into the wooden ofuro in the center of the room. She stripped the gamine of her threadbare yukata and koshihimo, and the noisome things were cast to the side of the room. Then, the maid prodded her into the tub.

Another maid, a girl around her age, had also been waiting inside the room when they arrived, testing the temperature of the water with her hand. Curiosity filled her dark brown eyes to the brim.

Rin watched the nameless women pour sweet smelling oils into her tub. The droplets formed ripples in the steaming water. There was a floral smell to it now, like the exotic flowers she saw during the Summerfest. It was bright and mixed well with the scent of the mineral-rich bath water.

As they began to touch her body with the clean rag, Rin grew more and more uncomfortable. They weren't like the contemptible brutes in her village; they were only fulfilling the duties asked of them. Still, she could not help the shiver the crawled up her spine.

"You were with the Inu no Taisho and his son earlier," the younger maid awed, breaking the silence. "I don't think I've ever seen you around before; how did you meet them? Are they really as handsome as everyone says?"

"Koharu." The other maid hissed. Koharu pouted her lip but stayed silent.

The older maid gathered some bathwater in a small vessel and poured it over Rin's head as Koharu began to work away several weeks' worth of grease and smut from her scalp. Whenever they would come upon a particularly insistent snarl of hair, Rin would grunt at the sudden rough tug. The maids also made sure to wipe away any grime that besmirched her face.

The bath soon came to an end, and Rin felt as light as a feather from head to toe. The maid handed her a light towel to dry and cover herself with before unfolding a yukata-like fabric. Rin felt ashamed; she had not worn a proper undergarment for so long that she had not immediately recognized it. The hadajuban had a crisp newness to it, its glistening white silk thin enough to keep her from burning up under the hot summer sun.

After the hadajuban was on and secured around her waist, Koharu started on Rin's yukata. It was a pale persimmon color with light yellow blossoms of various sizes scattered around the hem and the end of the sleeves, secured in the back by a simple dark green koshihimo. This was another significant change from her typical dress—she usually fastened hers in the front. She thought the loose but lovely yukata was much too elegant for her.

She was so distracted by the simple elegance of her new clothes that she had not noticed when the maidservant finished. Her reverie was broken by the quickness with which the maid had shoved a mirror into her face.

The young girl shied away from the maid's sudden gesture. The hand mirror was simple iron that gave a dull glow in the sunlight. It had been many years since Rin had seen her reflection in something other than a murky pool of water. With hesitation, she accepted the mirror in her small hands and peered into it.

What peered back at her was mortifying.

Her face was haggard and dull, and her complexion had long since been allowed by hunger. The soft, hopeful glow of the past had disappeared from years of constant abuse. The maidservant had fashioned her wispy, lackluster hair into a half-up, half-down style that did very little to beautify her moribund bearing.

"Rin," Tōga called from the opposite side of the shoji, "are you modest?"

Rin looked towards the older maid, who was already making her way towards the entrance. The Western Lord donned his heavy armor and looked more fearsome than he did when she last saw him. He had found another ribbon to tie up his long cascade of white hair.

He gave Koharu and the older maid a nod as he walked by, and the two girls promptly took their leave. He took some time to observe Rin's fresh appearance, which caused her to stiffen instinctually, though she knew he was not there to harm her. "You look lovely."

After seeing her reflection in the mirror, she knew that was a bit of a stretch. Still, she accepted the compliment and began to finger at the sleeves of her bright new yukata absentmindedly.

"Sesshomaru chose it," Tōga clarified, "he has a much better eye for aesthetics than I."

That made some sense. Lord Sesshomaru, though frightening, was very beautiful himself. "Where is Lord Sesshomaru?"

The warrior shrugged. "Perhaps somewhere brooding again. I proposed something he did not quite like earlier. I want to hear your opinion on it."

Rin could not think of anything that a great man like him would want her lowly speculation on. Still, she nodded obediently and turned her whole body to face him.

"After the execution," he began as he sat down next to her, the metal of his armor clanging against the floor, "Sesshomaru and I will depart for the Western lands."

"Oh." Rin frowned, and a great sadness boiled up within her. She had known that this would not last forever, but she had not been expecting him to leave so soon.

Her disenchantment did not go unnoticed by the Western lord. "You must give me time to finish. I think it would be wise of you to join us."

There was a long, long pause as she took the time to grasp that notion. Travel to the Western lands? The small, pitiful village across the river had been her home for so long that this opportunity felt like a dream. Under Lord Tōga's charge, she would no longer be maltreated by vicious boys or lecherous men, nor have to suffer the righteous fury of their mothers and wives. However, the puerile girl within her still yearned for her brother's return. What if he finally came back, only to find that Rin had forsaken him? Would he stay in the village like Rin had done all these years?

Tōga gazed at her with the eyes of a benign old king.

She hesitated. "I…don't know."

This startled him. "What?"

"I have to stay, Lord Tōga."

The older man furrowed his brows and leaned closer to her. He had known Sesshomaru would object to the idea, but he had not expected this from her, as well. "You mean to say you want to stay in this village? A place where you are debased by men and women alike?"

Rin grew antsy, intimidated by his looming figure.

"I am no physician, but even I can see that you are sick." He scolded. "You are malnourished and exhausted, and I am certain you will die if you stay here just a week longer."

His words were frank and frightening, but she could not waver. "There's someone I have to wait for."

They gazed at each other for a few more seconds before Tōga finally sighed and stood from his seat. "Very well, then. The execution takes place in a few minutes. We'll take my horse to the clearing. Have you ridden before?"

Rin blinked at how quickly he let the conversation end. She had almost forgotten about the execution. "Do I have to go?"

"Unless you'd like to stay here by yourself." Lord Tōga replied, extending his hand. "But, as I said before, Sesshomaru and I will depart after the execution. I cannot guarantee that they won't kick you out as soon as I go."

Of course, Rin thought. She was still just a common whore, an orphan with not even enough money for a simple bowl of rice. She let out a sigh of defeat and took his hand, pulling herself up.

She had only ridden a horse once before in her girlhood, but that was with her father. She had never ridden by herself. "I don't think I'd remember how to ride."

"Don't fret then. I'll have to teach you sometime."

* * *

A few minutes after noon, when the sun was finally at its zenith, a multitude of people met in the grassless dell outside of the hilltop city to witness what they thought was justice. The farmer's boy's death was set up to be a spectacle to make up for lost time at the festival, it seemed. The clean, simple wooden rostrum had been set up in the middle of the clearing so that the boy could lose his head for all to see. Towards the edge of the clearing was a large, raised wooden grandstand for the city officials to view from. Around this elaborate structure, merchants and other patricians set up their palanquins and carriages for a first class-look at the carnage. Servants flitted about them, serving tea and other delicacies. Everyone else—city peasants and rustic villagers—could do nothing but the crowd around the clearing on foot, the hot summer sun bearing down mercilessly on their weary backs.

Rin had never seen an execution before. The only deaths she had witnessed before last night were from illness or old age. She knew very little of cold steel and severed heads. Nervously, she tightened her grasp around the Inu no Taisho's armored torso. She and Lord Tōga had made their entrance on Sai Hu, the Lord's great steed that had tried to eat her hair that morning. As they approached, she saw many familiar faces. In the crowd was the shopkeeper's wife and daughter, who had refused to serve her just the day before. She could faintly see the farmer, his wife, and his eldest sons, all sad and solemn.

Five elaborate seats had been prepared for the city officials under the cool shade of the awning. The Ishida brothers took the two places on the far left while Lord Sesshomaru and Lord Yukinaga took the right side. The seat in the middle, presumably for Lord Tōga, was empty. Lord Yukinaga and the Ishida brothers were still dressed in their fine fabrics from that morning. None noticed their entrance save for Sesshomaru, his hair tinged gold in the light of the sun, his eyes filled with a chill. Rin also noticed that Lady Karan, for all her talk during the trial, was missing.

When they were close enough to that platform, Lord Tōga helped her dismount from Sai Hu. A stable boy rushed to relieve him of the reins.

"Lord Yukinaga will probably give some histrionic speech before the boy's death. It is best you stay behind the crowd if you don't want to see the bloodletting. I'll be a few steps away, up on the dais." Tōga nodded towards the chair between Sesshomaru and the Ishida brothers. "We shall escort you back to your village when this is over."

Rin nodded. Then, Lord Tōga slipped into the crowd and towards the platform. The audience slowly began to part for him as they realized who he was. When he was finally seated, Lord Yukinaga moved to start the event.

Lord Yukinaga's voice boomed for all the crowd to her: "We, the good citizens of Yobetsu, have gathered here to witness the justice of the gods and the emperor."

Lord Tōga was right. Rin could see him roll his eyes in his seat.

The crowd fell silent. Yukinaga continued to speak. "This year, our beautiful summer festival was tainted by tragedy. One of the most beautiful structures in our city, the Ishida Inn, has all but been destroyed after yesterday's explosion. In this act of terrorism, Lord Kusakabe of Tsurui, among other guests, perished. Our own highly esteemed Great Lord Tokudaiji of the Western was nearly killed by the blast as well."

The crowd of nobility grumbled at this, but Rin could not tell if it was for their dead acquaintances.

"There is no way to recover the lives of those lost; however, there is a way to avenge them. Death can only be forgiven through death. Bring him!"

The voices of the crowd cried out in rage as two guards roughly pushed the farmer's boy towards the rostrum. A plainclothesman donning a mask followed close behind them, a small sliver of metal from his sword glinting in the afternoon light. Rin's heart caught in her chest. When the quartet finally made it to the dais, the guards pushed the farmer's boy to his knees with a thud, facing the crowd. He stared down at the dusty earth, ignoring the crowd's rage with an impassive expression on his face. His mother let out a sad cry at the sight.

"This boy stands before you convicted of the crimes of attempted assassination against the Emperor's own appointed Great Sovereign, the assassination of a Lord, the murder of many more innocent townsmen, and the devastation of property. He will be executed accordingly." Lord Yukinaga paused to nod at the masked man, who looked to him for instruction. "May the gods show him mercy."

The harsh ring of steel cut clearly through the crowd, who by now had fallen to a low murmur as they watched the masked man unsheathe his sword. The farmer's boy, resigned to his fate, remained dignified on the scaffold, keeping his eyes on the ground even his mother's cries grew louder, and he felt the cold metal against the back of his neck.

Rin covered her eyes at that point. It was only after she heard the shuddering gasp of the crowd and the harsh thud of a something heavy on the platform did she feel brave enough to look up again.

The scene was as gory as Lord Toga had said it would be. They had not yet bothered to pick up the boy's headless body, and the thick, dark blood that was still flowing from the stump of a neck had begun to pool around his torso and settle into the light wood of the platform. Despite this horror, the sounds of approval from the noblemen had started to drown out the cries of the farmer's wife.

Rin was so startled by this lurid scene that she had barely noticed when Lord Yukinaga began to speak. "I encourage you all to remember this moment." He spoke sternly as two servants slowly climbed the dais to retrieve the body. "Let this be a warning to all who dare to plot against the crown."

And with those imperious words, the crowd was dismissed.

* * *

 _ **a/n:**_ Gosh, this took forever for finish! I'm sorry this is so short compared to chapters two and three, but this is mostly just filler, as well as the conclusion for what I call the 'set-up' of a work. Everything from here on out should be just pure plot and character development.

I'll try to update as soon as possible! See you next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n:** Sorry for the wait! I can't believe it's been almost a year since I updated this? Life happened (high school graduation, applying for colleges, summer job applications, spending time with friends, move-in day, midterms, finals, etc. etc.) + I was kinda stumped on how I wanted to write this chapter. I did an in-depth outline of chapters five through eight back in November (which I will have to change yet again, whoops), so there's no real reason it took me this long to update.

Thanks for all the kind reviews! I thought for sure this story was forgotten about, lol.

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairytale. This story is only for fun and practice.

* * *

 **SONG OF THE WEST**

an Inuyasha fanfic

v.

* * *

The forest was dark as pitch when Rin began her journey back to the village. The sun had finally set on a rather sombre day, and the new moon left the sky absent of a natural light. With the summer festivities over, no servants had been sent to tend the ornate lanterns that lit the woodland paths for travellers. Rin could only faintly make out her hands when she placed them in front of her, much less the path. Still, she continued on, her heart heavy and her mind reeling from the violent sights and sounds she had been exposed to.

"Rin," a familiar voice croaked to life behind her.

A shiver crawled up her spine. Rin turned to see Kahei, very much alive, his eyes filled with a mixture of lust and mischief. His kosode was hopelessly tattered in the front, a deep stain growing on the light fabric from the brutal diagonal slash across his neck. His arm-which she had last scene on the dirt pathway in an alleyway near the ruined inn-was barely connected to his arm by sinew. A much-needed torch was in his good hand. Rin hid her nose in her hands to keep from inhaling his decaying fetor.

"Disgusted?" Kahei came towards her as he laughed, his once confident swagger devolved into a haphazard limp. "You should be honored! This is your Lord Sesshōmaru's handiwork, and for your sake!"

Memories of the young Lord cutting Kahei down in the alleyway flashed around her. Smog and debris filled the air, obscuring her view and burning her eyes and throat.

 _He didn't die because of me,_ Rin thought. _None of that was my fault._

The blood from Kahei's severed arm had began to pool around his feet. Rin was amazed; he seemed to sink in it.

His nostrils flared angrily. "It would have worked, if not for you. I could have had enough money for a thousand whores much finer than a simple village tart."

Kahei made a small limp towards her. Rin stepped back. The path grew torrid under her feet, the dirt and rocks burning like summer stone.

He paused. "What?" He mocked. "Is the whore too good to fuck a one-armed man now that the great Lord of the West is under her spell?"

"Don't tease her too much, Kahei," another voice chimed, sluggish and low. "She looks as if she's about to faint."

Rin pivoted on her heel to see none other than Gojo. Unlike Kahei, his body was still in tact. Nevertheless, he looked horrific, dark red blood streaming from his sad eyes, ears, nostrils, and the corners of his mouth.

She screamed. Both young men winced at the sound, as if she were about to summon something infinitely more dangerous.

"This isn't real," Rin concluded breathlessly, holding her injured hand close to her chest. "I'm dreaming. You're both dead."

Kahei scoffed. "Well, no shit."

"I'm sorry we involved you in this," Gojo lamented. "You need to leave, before he kills you too."

"Why should she live? She's a curse walking. If not for her, we'd still be alive." Kahei snapped. His bad arm fell to the earth with a loud thud, whereupon it withered at once, the skin and muscle sloughing away from the bone and into the dirt. His good arm quivered, the fire of the torch making her lone shadow dance against the forest milieu.

"Go," Gojo hissed, his eyes narrowed. A deep laceration grew across his throat, as if an invisible headsmen had hit his mark. This fresh of flow of blood made speaking tough, and his voice gurgled. "Now."

Rin could feel the bile rising in her throat. She couldn't tell if he was talking to her or Kahei. Either way, she swiftly turned away from the chilling scene, eager to leave the two wraiths behind her.

A small rustle in the leaves and the crackling of wood captured the trio's attentions. Whatever it was it, sounded like a large, dangerous animal, ready to strike.

"Shit," Kahei breathed.

They disappeared in the blink of an eye. The torch dropped to the ground, enshrouding the woods in darkness once more.

Rin looked behind her at where the two boys once stood. Her hair stood on end. Two disimpassioned golden eyes stared back at her, like two lights in the middle of the darkness…

* * *

She woke with a start, the food she had eaten the day before spilling onto the dirt floor beside her in a burst of emotion. With shuddering breaths, she wrapped her arms around herself.

 _A nightmare,_ Rin thought. _Just a silly nightmare. But so vivid!_

It had been days since they left. A few hours after the execution of the farmer's boy, when the sun was still bright in the sky and the midday heat was just beginning to set in, Rin watched the Inu no Taisho and his son exit her life the same way they had entered: on the road dividing the village into two neat halves, leading into the lush valley below. The villagers bid the noble pair farewell with the same awed expressions they had greeted them with, this time stifled in a solemn sort of respect instead of kiddish excitement. The deaths of Gojo and Kahei were still fresh on everyone's minds, too fresh to regard the enigmatic figure with anything more than shame and sadness.

Rin had said her goodbyes far earlier than the rest of them. After the crowd had dispersed and the servants had arrived to clear away Gojo's ruined corpse and spilled blood, she waited dutifully next to the noblemen's dais for Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru, anxious to flee the harrowing scene.

The noblemen and the aristocracy of the city, save the Western Lords, were all smiles, congratulating themselves on the death of a dangerous criminal. To the side, Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru were engaged in intense discussion. Sesshōmaru's brows furrowed, making his mien appear more displeased than usual. Finally, Tōga's eyes met hers and his mouth formed a smile. His son scoffed and summoned a stable boy for his horse.

"I have a few loose ends to tie up here," Tōga said warmly, once he was near her. "Sesshōmaru will take you back to your village now, if you so desire."

Rin glanced at Sesshōmaru and met his frightening gaze once more. She had to keep herself from recoiling, but nodded nonetheless. Suddenly, Lord Tōga grabbed her wrist and drew her closer so that only she could hear him.

"The offer is still open," he said softly. "We could take you anywhere you desire-a city, another village, a distant family member-if only you'd asked."

It was tempting to say the least, but soon her mind wandered back to the memory of her older brother, and she shook her head slowly.

Lord Tōga frowned and looked down at where his hand wrapped around her disconcertingly small wrist. Rin thought she saw a sudden sadness wash over his features, shadows of bad memories. At last, he reached into his robes and pulled forth a medallion.

Rin's eyes widened. The golden medallion gleamed brightly in the haze of the afternoon sun. Engraved on it were what appeared to be the teeth of a fierce animal, and inside of its maw were characters which she was unable to read. He placed it into her free hand.

"This is the sigil of my clan," he said, tracing the image with his finger. "Show it to any vendor and you will be able to eat all that you desire. Show it to an innkeeper and you'll never have to sleep in the dirt again. And if you are ever in danger, this will keep you safe."

Rin was mystified by how the medallion could accomplish all that; nevertheless, she accepted it and placed it inside of her yukata.

Sesshōmaru soon arrived on his own horse to take her back to the village. Up there, he looked larger than life, all elegance and even more like the prince from her dreams.

Tōga helped her onto the horse. Instinctually, she wrapped her arms around Sesshōmaru's waist to keep from falling over. He felt strange and forbidden, and though she could feel him tense slightly, he said nothing to her, avoiding any possible reproof from his father.

Tōga studied her once more before speaking. "I wish you nothing but the best, Rin."

Sesshōmaru's horse whinnied under the pressure of his master's boots against his side, and soon they were off and away from the dell, the great Inu no Taisho blotted from view by the forest's foliage.

It was far easier to return to the village on horseback than by foot. Whereas it would've taken perhaps an hour for Rin to walk back through the city and to the village by herself, Sesshōmaru's horse completed the journey in a fraction of the time. On the city's main road, merchant stalls had long been abandoned. Shrapnel from the Ishida Inn was still scattered about the city. Their trip was spent in silence, just as Rin had suspected. The heir of the West possessed none of the warm affections that his father had for her.

When they reached the mouth of the village, Sesshōmaru pulled on the reins of his horse, signalling for it to stop. That was as far as he was willing to take her. The fractious pair sat overlooking the village in silence for a few seconds until Rin finally got the hint.

Slowly, she slid off of the tall horse without help. The green summer grass tickled the soles of her feet. After straightening the yukata, she looked up at the young man.

"Thank you," she said, her voice soft and unsure. Despite his cold treatment towards her, she held him in high esteem. Without him, she would have been left vulnerable to whatever Kahei's depraved, inebriated mind had in store for her the night of the explosion.

Sesshōmaru said nothing. With the swift, graceful movements of a master horseman, he steered his mount around and disappeared into the woodland.

Rin's shelter was as she left it-squalid and pitiful, her untouched otherwise. She had nearly missed it. But oh! To think that only two days prior she had dined in the city's finest inn with the most beloved man in the country! The memories seemed like a fever dream now.

Beyond the heavy strips of fabric that served as the entrance, all was silent. The wind blew gently, pushing them back and forth. The white glow of midday sunlight squeezed its way through the cracks of the run-down home, informing her that it was time to go about her day.

Rin stretched languidly, wiggling her fingers and toes, releasing a symphony of cracks from her aching body. Her fingers no longer hurt, but they did not rest comfortably as the did before that fateful night. The medallion that the Inu no Taisho had bequeathed to her felt cold and heavy against her chest. It, along with her old injury, was another memorabilia that let her know what she experienced was real.

The news of Kahei's brutal death in the alley was the final blow for the village. For the past few days, it was as if a pall of sadness was smothering them. Aside from Rin, cattle and other livestock were the only souls active. The villagers locked themselves away in their huts, or moved about the roads like ghosts. Even the rude shopkeepers had closed down their shop.

Rin was slightly disappointed by this. A small, vengeful part of her was longing to see the horror on their faces when she pulled out the medallion. Now, she needed to find something to fill her freshly emptied stomach, something that didn't require a trip into the city.

On the edge of the village close to the entrance of the small forest was a little tributary that connected to the river near the city. Sometimes, unlucky freshwater fish found their way into the little stream, exposing themselves to attacks from ravenous animals or hungry peasants like herself.

Typically, it was a popular spot for the boys and young men of the village, who spent their summer evenings wading in the water and turning brown from the blaze of the sun after a hard day's work in the fields. For this reason, Rin made sure to stay far away from the area to avoid any unwanted attention. Rin knew from experience how ruthless men in groups could be, and the younger boys were unlikely to have something to offer her in return for her services.

The village's gloomy inactivity had extended to this area, just as Rin thought it would, giving her the chance to enjoy it in peace. The water was eerily clear here, like the bathwater that Sesshōmaru had had prepared for her or on the pond in the Ishida Inn's once beautiful courtyard. Even from her position a few feet away from the twinkling stream, she could spy a few fish swimming in confused circles, trying to make their way back into the river.

Rin quietly removed and folded her pretty new yukata as she walked towards the tributary and rolled up the hem of her hadajuban before easing herself into the water, the hot earth becoming mud under her bare feet. She was no braggart about her fishing skills. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if she could catch anything. She hadn't fished since before the plague that had destroyed her old seaside village. As the children of a fisherman, she and her brothers turned catching fish with their bare hands into a sport. She could remember going to sea with her father and watching in awe as he and his partners heaved scores of iridescent fish into the open air…

Rin shook her head wildly, some dark strands of her hair falling from the once-perfect coiffure the servants had styled it into before the execution. She couldn't bare to reminisce about that. At least, not yet.

She sighed and wriggled her toes in the water. The small fish swam past her as if she were another plant. It was time to strike.

Rin lunged for the fish closest to her. It darted away, its sleek wet body slipping through her grasp. These sudden motions sent the small school into a frenzy, darting back and forth in confusion. She lunged once more-they fled from her. She repeated this cycle again, and again, and again, and again, until she finally emerged from the tributary with a single small fish to show for her hard work. No matter, though. With a few herbs and some berries, she was sure she could turn this small fish into a decent meal.

"Harlot! Have you no shame?"

Rin nearly dropped her catch in surprise. She turned to see an old woman with a basket in her arms, her crowlike eyes boring into her with disgust. Behind her were two young women around her age, also with baskets in their hands. Suddenly aware of the social indecency of her clothing, Rin could do nothing but stare stupidly at the crone.

"This is a period of mourning," the old woman croaked on, "and you of all people should know and respect that. Instead, you're out here publicly gambolling like the wanton you are!"

The girls behind her put their heads together to stifle a teasing laugh. Rin looked down at her hadajuban. The bottom of the thin white fabric was completely soaked through, plastering itself to her thighs. In a way, Rin was glad it had been them who caught her and not any of the young men.

Rin clutched the fish in her hands and stepped back onto the riverbank, whereupon she grabbed her yukata from the ground. The young girls fell silent as they eyed the fine fabric in her arms and the simple kanzashi in her hair with shock and envy. When she walked past the judgmental group, she distracted her eyes with everything else-a stray cloud, a lone beetle in the grass, the drying scales of her fish. When she was a good distance away from them, the old woman called out to her.

"It should have been you who died, not those boys!"

Later, as she roasted her fish over the small fire she had managed to start, she could have sworn she was being watched.

* * *

"Rin!"

Soft, warm hands pressed against her face. Rin turned over on her side, shooing the intruder away with a sleepy hand.

"Go away," she mumbled. Her voice sounded lighter than usual, more lilting than it had been in a very long time.

One hand, small as it was, pressed itself against her forehead and then under her chin.

"You slept here all day yesterday," a voice muttered, "and you're really, really warm. Maybe I should take you to a doctor…"

Rin opened her eyes. It was light outside again, but her surroundings were different. The shelter looked new, as if it had just been put up. And instead of being alone as she had been for a decade, her brother, her dear Tarō, stood before her, as young as he had been when he disappeared from her life altogether.

"Tarō!" She exclaimed, bolting up from her tatami mat. The sudden movement made her head float, and she pressed her hands against her temples. When the nausea left her and the asterismos cleared from her eyes, she could see that she was quite altered as well: her hands and feet were both smaller than usual, as if she were a child again.

Tarō blinked at her confused. One of his eyes was swollen. "Yes! Geez, Rin, you act as if you haven't seen me in _weeks._ "

Rin let out a shuddering breath. "Your eye…"

He had been caught stealing, she knew. Her heart sank into her stomach.

"Oh! Don't worry about it - I just got into a small fight. No big deal." Tarō smiled in an attempt to cheer her up. "I may have found a job, Rin, in the city. But I need you to come with me."

Those were the exact words he said to her before he disappeared.

 _A dream._ Rin thought. _This is another dream._

She grabbed his arm. "Let's just stay in today," she whimpered. "It's scary out there."

Tarō's face grew sombre, and he sighed. "Which is why you should come into the city with me. These villagers...they aren't too nice to outsiders, I think. I'm afraid to leave you here…" he tugged on her arm.

It was a tough choice-stay here and suffer, or let him leave and never see him again. Rin felt tears streaming down her face.

"C'mon Rin," Tarō whined, giving her arm a rougher tug, "don't make me feel bad! The festival is starting again today, too. After you see a doctor, we may be able to see a few things."

Rin winced. "I don't want to go, Tarō."

"Fine. We'll go tomorrow," he sighed, but maintained his smile. "Maybe then I'll have the money to buy us some trinkets." Slowly, he began to exit the shelter. "Well, goodbye Rin."

Outside, the world was ablaze. The heat was unbearable.

"Tarō?" Rin gasped. She lunged for him in an attempt to keep him inside of the shelter once more. "Tarō!"

She came back to reality with a harsh thud against the ground. Rin's eyes opened wide as she felt a multitude of hands tugging at her limbs, hair, and even her yukata.

"Quickly!" a voice bellowed. Something heavy collided with the side of her torso, forcing a scream out of her.

Exhausted and thoroughly disoriented by her dream, Rin became afraid, cold waves of panic washing over her. She thrashed her arms about, kicking and screaming. The smell of burning wood singed her nostrils and throat.

Two strong pairs of hands snatched her from the ground, one by her arm and the other by her hair. She used this new viewpoint to wildly take in the sight of a handful of the villagers, torches in their hand. Some of their faces were contorted with rage and grief, while others looked away as if they were as wary of her as she was of them. Within the ferocious mob, she saw some familiar faces—the shopkeeper's wife and daughter, who had refused to service her a few days before; some brothers of Gojo and Kahei; and some of the men she had once serviced, alongside their angry wives. Most were yelling various insults at her, calling her things like "whore" or "temptress," both of which she had heard before. But this time, there were some new ones as well: "murderess" and "witch" and "cursed."

The men restraining her weren't much kinder, either. Rin thought for sure that one of them was trying to wrench her hair from her scalp, while the other had croaked up an insulting amount of saliva. She couldn't even move her arm to wipe the disgusting spit from her face.

Rin had never been more afraid in her life.

Harshly, she was forced in the direction of the main part of the village. The horde of people followed after her like a swarm of bees, howling all sorts of horrible things at her. Behind her, her makeshift home had grown smaller with distance, diminishing from a large campfire to mere candlelight.

She thought of the little box next to her bedside. _My mother's comb._ Rin tried to turn around to see what was left of the pitiful little shelter, only to be met with another twist of her hair. She could feel tears trickling down her cheeks.

Save for her assaulters, the village was eerily still as she was paraded down the main street. Despite the darkness, she knew that there was no possible way others could be sleeping through the clamor of the angry mob. Still, no one even gave the poor girl a spare glance through the entrances of their dwellings, choosing to turn a blind eye towards the violence about to occur in their very village.

After what seemed like hours, the men threw her to the ground at the mouth of the village. The hard earth cut into her knees and the palms of her hands upon impact. Rin wailed out loudly.

"Leave us!" A woman who sounded like the shopkeeper's wife spoke up. "You are no longer wanted here!"

Rin sobbed and kept her tearful gaze on the ground, too afraid to look up at the mob. Had they only meant to scare her into submission? She would have gladly left, without this ceremonial humiliation, if she had known what they had in store for her.

"Move!" Another voice cried out in impatience. Something hard crashed into her chest, deflecting off of the medallion given to her by the Inu no Taisho. The other grazed her cheek.

Rocks. They were throwing rocks at her.

Rin scrambled to her feet, barely avoiding a large stone that whizzed past her head. She let out a cry of anguish as another wave of stones were released, hitting her back and calves.

She would not be given the time to search for her brother. She was being forced to leave right now.

Rin ran as fast as she could down the hill and into the valley below.

* * *

 **a/n:** And that's it for now! I had originally outlined something slightly more dark than this (I was hyped up on coffee during midterms, mind you), but as I was re-reading it and felt pretty bad for poor Rin. After all, we're only 10% of the way through the novel. I need to save some of the angst/whump for later.

Like I said earlier, I have the next few chapters outlined, I just have to type them up. I'm hoping to get six typed up within the next month or two.

Remember to leave a review! I enjoy reading them!


	6. Chapter 6

**WARNING:** Animal death. Nothing explicit, just implied. Also, small hints of sexual violence.

 _ **a/n:**_ Wow, you all had some pretty strong reactions to the last chapter! I hope you all enjoy this 7000+ beast :) There's a longer author's note at the end.

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairytale. This story is merely for fun and practice!

* * *

 **SONG OF THE WEST**

an Inuyasha fanfic

* * *

 **vi.**

The first storm of the summer arrived on swift wings, forcing the traveling pair into a country inn mere hours after their departure from Yobetsu. Sesshōmaru allowed himself to be impressed—despite its dated thatched roof and dull wooden floors, the rustic little hostelry stood firm against the damp gales of the tempest, fortified against any undesirable leaks or puddles. Lightning flashed brightly across the nighttime sky, enshrouding the candlelit room in pure white light every few minutes.

Of course, the innkeeper had been surprised and incredibly grateful to have such highly esteemed guests in his establishment. He promised them the best of every service he could provide: crops, meat, drink, lodgings, bedding, and anything else they so desired. Though his best was still far less than they were accustomed to, Lord Tokudaiji accepted these favors with regal gratitude, since he believed being under any roof with any manner of service was far better than unnecessarily braving a torrential downpour in a dark forest.

His son, however, viewed the set of circumstances as yet another irksome hindrance.

"How long do you suppose this will last?" Sesshōmaru asked impatiently.

Even in his upright position, he could barely see his father over the low, wooden table laden with empty plates and cups. The Western Lord had decided to take full advantage of this diversion, lying supine on one of the futons provided to them by the innkeeper, eyes closed and armor and swords off to the side.

"Perhaps another hour or so," he muttered drowsily. "Still, it'd be dangerous to let the horses ride on earth softened by this amount of rain. Get comfortable; it's best we wait until morning, either way."

Sesshōmaru scoffed. "They've experienced storms far worse than this in Inugawa."

"When you were a child, you were afraid of storms," Tōga mused. "Now, as a young man, you're eager to march straight into one."

The unsolicited nostalgic remark deserved the eye roll it received.

His father continued. "Relax! Between that damned explosion, the trial, and that boy's execution, neither of us got a wink of sleep. Tomorrow morning, we'll pay this kind innkeeper and resume our journey, dry and well-rested." He sighed, and rolled onto his side, eyes still shut. "Speaking of payment, I assume you're carrying your seal?"

He was. Sesshōmaru's brow quirked. "Where is yours?"

He had seen his father use his seal—a hefty, golden _jitsuin_ with the _mondokoro_ of the Tokudaiji clan engraved on it—at both the Ishida inn and the inn they had used during the trial. As nonchalant as the Western Lord could be at times, he was not one to misplace an object like that, nor did he lack the vigilance to have it stolen.

"I gave it to Rin before we left," Tōga said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

His age was beginning to show. It had to be.

Sesshōmaru gazed over the table in disbelief. "You're jesting," he stated, slightly acidic at the mere thought.

"What? Should I have just left left her there with nothing after all that, so she'd be forced to continue that dangerous lifestyle?" Lord Tōga was more awake now, his voice low and testy.

"Whore or not, do you really think giving your seal to some village girl was the wiser decision?"

Tōga huffed. "Starveling girls like her aren't the type to waste money on frivolous things."

"Well, if she decides to be different, she can certainly afford to," his son replied wryly.

"I doubt one young girl is going to put a dent in our exchequer," Tōga rolled his eyes. "I'm glad I didn't tell you before. Hearing you fuss about this while fully awake would've been unbearable."

If you would've told me before, I wouldn't have left her in that damn village, Sesshōmaru thought darkly.

His father's apparent fondness for the girl was confounded at best, and uncomfortably precarious at worse. Giving her food was one thing; pampering her for a day, buying her new clothes, and providing her with a place to rest was strange, but not the most peculiar good deed he had witnessed from his father. Asking her to accompany them was far more irregular. But to entrust her, an ill-educated, plain village girl, with the golden seal of a Great Lord, a practical key to an endless amount of wealth and a lifetime of good service? It went far beyond the Western Lord's typical humanitarian routine, crossing the boundary between impersonal favor and intimate regard. With a bestowal like that, certainly he was planning on returning to retrieve it eventually…

Sesshōmaru's eyes narrowed, and he took a sip of his drink. What had occured during their moments alone—before the explosion, at the lesser inn, while he was summoning Sai Hu—to warrant such an extreme declaration of favor?

Though they were few and far between, there had been whisperings of his father's infidelity—mostly Western court gossip, the indiscreet and oft-regretted talk amongst maidservants. For men of the nobility, possessing other lovers was a private yet acknowledged facet of the lifestyle. The unmarried Lord Raikuji certainly had a few, and Lord Katsushika shamelessly dabbled with dozens of courtesans even when his Lady had been alive. Lord Tokudaiji had never spoken so openly to him about any other women, though his numerous travels would have made such relations likely. Had it not been for the occasionally procreative nature of adultery, Sesshōmaru could've easily allowed his father's business to remain his father's business.

Being an only child had been rather unfortunate for his mother, but a rare blessing for a young man of his status. He would not have to split with or care for unmarried sisters, as was the case for Lord Katsushika's brood; nor would there be another legal heir to the Western Lands to contend with, as Lord Tokudaiji might've if his uncles had been smart enough to stay alive. Nonetheless, it was not unheard of for male bastards to steal a title from the rightful successor, and even the wealthy husbands of illegitimate daughters sometimes styled themselves as potential substitutes.

Sesshōmaru was not interested in dealing with either situation.

"How did she seem when you left her?" Tōga inquired, softer and more contemplative. "Was all well?"

Sesshōmaru hadn't bothered to notice, nor was he in the mood to remember. He was the future Lord of a third of the country, not the caretaker to some underfed girl. "All was as it normally was for her, I suppose."

Tōga released a heavy breath, but said nothing else on the matter. "Thank you for accompanying her, then. The third accomplice—the girl, Aina—decided to confess in the presence of Lord Yukinaga and I whilst you were away."

The young Lord glanced at his father again, his eyes narrowing. "You sent me away on an _errand_ while crucial information was shared?"

His father scoffed. "Oh, not without reason! Clever as you are, you can be rather bellicose at times. For example, if you had merely disabled that boy instead of lopping his arm off, we might've had access to even more vital intel."

Sesshōmaru bristled, but refused to argue. "What did she reveal?"

"Everything I expected she would to try and save her own life: she confessed to her role in the scheme and her attempt to frame Rin, as well as her motivations. Apparently, whoever sent them on this missive promised them a great deal of wealth in return," Tōga explained.

A lord's life—especially two lords, and a Great Lord, at that—was of immeasurable worth when bartering with assassins. And while the bumbling trio had lacked the skill needed to fully execute such a plan without being caught, Aina had seemed clever enough to know the worth of a noble head. Whoever ordered the hit clearly had the money to back up their requests, and enough upfront to prove its authenticity.

Merely a few seconds after his peroration, Yukinaga returned to his seat at Tōga's left. The headsmen that had been selected to perform the task was truly an expert at his craft: he brought down his blade with magnificent ease and strength, working through bone and sinew with one clean stroke and avoiding the brutal hack job of an unskilled man.

The boy's blood poured quickly from his body, as if it were water. The crowd, a mixture of rich and poor, were divided between horrified screams and joyful exclamations. His death was merely another spectacle of the summer festival.

To Tōga, the whole situation was absurd. The people of the North never failed to amaze him with their frivolities. There were a myriad of less symbolic ways to punish him—a simple hanging, or something else private that didn't force a mother to watch her son die. They could've even sentenced him to penal labor, something that kept him alive long enough to provide them with more information. But the nobles of the city, eager for blood, were more interested in their lost wares than a lost life, and Yukinaga had ruled accordingly.

A guard walked swiftly up the stairs of the dais and to Lord Yukinaga's side. As he whispered, Yukinaga's expression perked up. He waved the guard away, and leant to speak to Tōga.

"The girl is confessing," Yukinaga said, a proud simper on his face.

"What has she said?" Tōga responded.

"Not much. She's only admitted to playing a role in the crime. She requests an audience."

Yobetsu's jail was primarily underground, designed specifically to make its inhabitants hate every second spent there. In the summer it was dark and humid; in the winter, ice accumulated in the small window sills at the top of each cell, making the building well-nigh insupportable. Around this time of year, its cells were filled with petty criminals, mostly pickpockets who had decided to use the annual summer festival as their hunting ground and poor citizens who the rich had deemed annoying. It was only the hotel waitress that had dared to break this status quo and contribute to something more dastardly.

Accordingly, her cell was at the very end of the narrow hallway, the most worn and the most protected. Two guards stood at attention at the gate of her cell, with a third, the interrogator, sitting on a stool on the other side of the bars. In his hands was a large wooden rod, covered in blood. Dry red spots of sizes were scattered about the packed dirt floor and stone walls.

As Yukinaga had ordered, Aina had been flogged until she had confessed, and horribly so. Sweat dripped from her stringy hair as she knelt on the ground, her eyes downcast and her breath heavy. Only a thin, rugged blanket had been given to her to protect her modesty, and the blood from her back had ruined that. She had gone from perfectly healthy to looking like death in a mere matter of hours.

One of the guards opened the gate for noble pair. Yukinaga dismissed the three, leaving them alone with Aina, who gazed up at them with tired eyes.

"You have Lord Tokudaiji's audience, girl," Lord Yukinaga boasted. "Speak your piece."

"Who was the leader of this whole plot?" Tōga asked. "You, or that boy who died in the alleyway?"

The girl hesitated, but still managed to croak out an answer. "It was me, my Lord. I only asked Kahei and Gojo to assist me."

"What stopped you from delivering my meal to me directly that night?"

"I grew afraid. Even if it had worked, I didn't want anything to possibly be traced back to me," Aina shuddered as she spoke. "That girl from Kahei and Gojo's village had just...appeared. And the kitchens were horribly busy that night, so I knew no one would notice if an outsider was serving food. At the time, I thought she was godsent."

Lord Tōga looked down at her with a cold, hard gaze. _A murderer and a coward._ "How much poison did you put in my food? And what were Kahei and Gojo's roles in this?"

Aina gulped. "Lord Kusakabe gave me two bottles of poison—an entire one for you, and another to pour trace amounts into everyone else's food to create a distraction. Kahei and Gojo planted and triggered the explosions."

At that, Lord Yukinaga decided to chime in. "Lord Kusakabe did give you the vial, then?"

Tōga's eyes narrowed, and his deep voice boomed. "If you mean to accuse another Lord of plotting my murder, speak proudly, if is the truth. He isn't here to punish you, and I have no time for sheepishness."

His authoritative tone bounced between the thick stone walls, resonating through the entire prison and shaking Aina to the core. She trembled like a leaf.

"Well...a messenger delivered it from him to me. Before the festival began."

"A servant then," Lord Yukinaga asked, his brown quirked.

Aina's brows furrowed. "I'm not too sure. Although the vials had Lord Kusakabe's seal on them, the man who gave them to me wasn't wearing the colors of the Kusakabe clan."

The men who had accompanied Lord Kusakabe to Yobetsu—servants, guards, and all—had been found dead along with him, their bodies brutalized and scattered about the Ishida Inns courtyard. Still, they had all been donning the colors that identified them as retainers of the Kusakabe clan.

There was a fourth accomplice, someone who had not been tried or even found yet.

Tōga spoke hastily, "What did this man look like? Was he Northern at all?"

"He had dark hair, dark eyes, and fair skin. And way he pronounced and used words...I recognized the dialect of some of the Eastern nobility the Inn occasionally received."

The Eastern dialect, and possibly nobility at that. An unmistakable tie to Ryukotsusei.

"Call the guards back in, Lord Yukinaga," Tōga said, turning to walk outside of the cell. "I'm finished with my interrogation."

Lord Yukinaga barked out orders.

"Wait!" Aina yelped, lunging forward towards Lord Tōga, who sidestepped her easily. "I confessed to everything I know of. What of my sentencing?"

Oh, yes. Lord Yukinaga had doomed her to the same execution as the farmer's boy—a public beheading before all her coworkers, friends, and family. It was always fascinating how death could loosen one's tongue.

He looked back at her beaten, bloody form. If she had gotten her way, Tōga mused, it would've been Rin receiving this punishment instead.

She wouldn't have lasted three strokes.

But Gojo's public execution had been rather distasteful, and Tōga didn't feel like giving the nobility the satisfaction of another bloodbath.

The Great Lord of the West released and heavy breath, and exited the cell. Without turning back, he said, "Very well. Lord Yukinaga, she will be hung instead."

Tōga had mused on the testimony for hours after his departure from the city. It seemed his old friend had grown more bold and more sloppy over the years. Lord Yukinaga inquired on whether he should send out a guard to find this mysterious fourth accomplice, but they both knew that the man was long gone by then.

"Returning to the Western Lands under the guise of laying this offense behind us is our best bet," Tōga said to his son. "Still, we have to stop by Asano castle to inquire about any border skirmishes. When we arrive, be kind to Lady Sara—her father just died, and she was once your betrothed, after all."

Sesshōmaru huffed. Past engagement or not, the two had barely spoken to each other, even when he had visited to pay his respects to the late Lord Asano a few weeks ago.

"Noted."

The thunder crackled once again, loud and unrelenting.

"Now, for the love of the gods, go to sleep," Tōga said sighing. "We have a long day of travel ahead of us."

* * *

Rin had been walking for days.

Or, at least what felt like days. Truthfully, she didn't know how many hours had passed since she'd been forced out of the village—the only place in the world she had known for so long.

It had only been a matter of time. After all, despite how many of the men had used and abused her for sexual favors, the villagers had always made it clear that she was not welcome there. Even before, when she was still a child, she had understood the dirty looks she and her brother received upon entering the village, how they had ostracized them for fear that they would pass along a plague or whatever else they thought the gods had supposedly cursed them with. The execution of Gojo and Kahei, something she had been tied to, only hastened the process.

Yes, she always knew she would be forced out of the village eventually. But, albeit naively, she never would have thought that the villager would stoop to _killing_ her to get the job done. She shuddered to think of what fate might have befell her had the explosion never happened.

She had escaped with only a few small cuts and bruises on her legs and back, as well as a minor migraine from where a stone had collided with the back of her head. Thankfully, these injuries hadn't hindered her progress, allowing her to continue on the path that Tōga and Sesshōmaru had set out on the day before.

"Inu no Taisho-sama…" Rin sighed bitterly as she removed the medallion from the pocket on the inside of her yukata. The large objected was unharmed by the attack, twinkling brightly in the light and casting a gleam about the dirt path before her.

She felt brainless for not accepting Lord Tōga's offer of refuge when she had the chance, ignorant for believing that somehow her brother would stumble back into her life after all these years.

 _Why, he was a thief, after all! Perhaps he was coward as well_ , a voice from a distant memory filled her head. _He must've realized that caring for you was more trouble than it's worth._

The villagers had never been kind before—why should they have been then, when she most needed it?

Rin knew the words weren't true. After all, her brother had promised to take her to the festival the next day. Still, she needed to find her brother, just to know the truth, to know what kept him from returning to the city for so long. But, outside of her village, she knew nothing about how to get from place to place; how was she going to find her brother?

She pressed the medallion between her palms. The Inu no Taisho was a legendary figure—she had seen how the villagers gazed at him with awe, how Lord Yukinaga and the other noblemen had scrambled to pay their respects throughout the trial and the execution. If anyone knew where to go and how to find a person, certainly it was him. Suddenly, the image of the dog's maw filled her with strength.

Now, how was she going to find _him_?

There was only a small chance that they were still anywhere near this area. And even if they were, they could easily outpace her: she was on foot, and they on horseback. Still, if there was even a small chance that she could catch up with them, she was going to take it, no matter how tired she felt or how raw the soles of her feet became.

Rin looked out at the sprawling landscape before her. Last night, there had been a storm that had dissipated before it could reach her, leaving the sunrise sky a fiery summer orange. Beyond the village, the packed dirt road was all vast valley, with only a few trees dotted here and there and no large forests in sight. She knew not how far it continued, or where it went. This strange feeling of newfound freedom would have been pleasant if not combined with her lack of a sense of direction.

In the distance she could hear the sound of rapidly approaching hooves, as well as the rickety wheels of a wooden cart.

"You're blocking the path!" A male voice cried out. "Move!"

Rin spun on her heel. Her and her brother had gone from city to city on the back of different wagons by bartering off the rest of their belongings. Couldn't that method work now?

She stood firm. Wildly, she waved her arms in the air, signaling for him to stop.

Not wanting to collide with her or risk getting his wagon stuck in the grass and dirt, the man had no choice but to stop. Rin could hear the loud thud of something in the back of the wagon.

The man was small and old, with a grey head of hear and a long, grey beard. Despite the annoyed expression on his face, his words weren't filled with malice.

"You know, when someone on a horse yells, 'Move,' it's typically not a jest," he said gruffly.

Rin inhaled deeply to summon her courage before speaking. "Um, what's the next city on this path?"

The old man blinked in confusion. "…Shinmaki?"

 _Shinmaki_. She had heard the villagers mention it, albeit sparsely. If Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru were still on this route, surely they would've passed through.

"Could you take me there?" Rin asked eagerly. "Please?"

The old man let out an exhausted sigh and tightened his grip on the reins. "Listen, I have somewhere to be. That explosion in Yobetsu already made me lose days' worth of potential sales."

The medallion. Rin took the heavy thin gout of her pocket, allowing it to sway in front of the stranger's line of vision.

The old man's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "This is the Inu no Taisho's noble seal! How did you get this."

"He gave it to me," Rin said simply.

The Great Lord of the West's credit was worth far more than whatever he would've made at the festival. Hastily, he turned to make room in the back of the wagon.

"Welp, get in then!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry the back isn't too clean right now."

Rin nodded and rushed to the back of the wagon.

"If you need anything, just shout!" The old man said. With a flip of the reins, they were off into the blood-orange horizon.

Half of the day passed before the old man dropped her off in the town.

She looked around. Shinmaki was only slightly larger than her old village, with busier pathways and more sophisticated structures. But soon enough, what looked like a storefront caught her eye. An elderly woman was wiping down the outward facing counter of his shop, while a few people sat nearby under a tree, quietly enjoying their midday meal.

While her stomach was jumping for joy, a sense of anxiety slowly overtook her. Quietly, she shuffled over to the counter. The old woman peered at her curiously, but said nothing else.

Awkwardly, Rin started, "What do you have?"

"We have rice, of course, with vegetables. I don't serve meat this early in the day, but I can give you eggs, if you're willing to pay extra." The shopkeeper was straight-forward, with no hint of judgement in her tone.

"I'll have the rice and vegetables, then," Rin said. "And the eggs, too."

The woman looked at her incredulously but said no more, retreating further into her shop to prepare the food. Rin's mouth watered as she heard the low sizzle of the egg as if frying, the smell wafting along with the summer wind. Finally, after a few minutes, the woman returned to the counter, the bowl that she requested in her wrinkled hands.

It was truly a strange feeling, being in a new land where she was no longer known as the whore, the thief, or the cursed girl. For the first time in her life, she had managed to order something without hassle.

"Who's paying?" she said, looking past her. She must've assumed she was with someone.

Rin nodded, and quickly pulled out the medallion she had received from the Inu no Taisho.

The old woman nearly dropped the dish. The medallion glinted in the sunlight, letting her know that it was real.

"The Inu no Taisho's seal! What are you then—a maid? But that medallion—are you his woman, perhaps? You're young, but many lords have certainly dabbled with girls younger than you." The old woman was speaking fast, rattling off the possibilities. "Oh! Perhaps you're intimate with his son?"

Rin cringed at the familiarity with which she asked these question. "No…"

The shopkeeper reached beneath the counter, brought forth a small inkwell and paper, and then motioned to it. Slowly, Rin watched her press the medallion into the ink and then onto the paper. The woman even wiped the ink from its face with a clean, white cloth before returning it to her.

"Funny," she said. "The Inu no Taisho and his son just passed through two days ago. In fact, he scared off a few delinquents that were bothering me."

Her ears perked up at that.

"Which way did he go?"

"Why, towards the west of course." The old woman leaned over the counter and pointed towards the horizon. "Follow this path over that mountain and continue straight. That's the way they went, surely."

Rin looked in the direction she was pointed in. The mountain was large, and covered with dense forest.

The shopkeeper blinked. "Surely you aren't planning to go out now? The sun will be setting soon. It's best to try for an inn, and continue on in the morning. The dangers of traveling at night are too great, especially for a frail thing like you."

The woman was right. But Rin couldn't afford to wait any longer. Smiling, she thanked the woman for the food, and continued on her journey.

* * *

The storm quelled itself before the night was over, just as his father had predicted. That morning, when the horizon was still dark orange with the fury of the night prior, the duo paid the inn owner, mounted their horses, and set off on the next leg of their journey.

For the most part, the route taken was slightly off-road, tucked away neatly behind layers of leaves and tree trunks. This particular region of the North lacked any harsh inclines for the horses to maneuver through, allowing them to avoid any unwanted attention—friendly or hostile—that might come from the vulnerability of the valley pass.

The day went by smoothly—no arguments, no dry wit, no interruption. Towards the evening, the loud, low howl of a dog, followed by the sigh of an exhausted man, signalled that they had arrived at their destination.

"Finally," he grinned and prepared to dismount his horse. "Seiten!'

A single tent had been set up in the small clearing, well-hidden from the main road. Near it was a horse tethered to a nearby tree and a man who sat re-stringing his bow. He looked up when he heard them coming.

Three large dogs rushed towards the pair. Two of them, Tai and Shui, soon overtook his father, nearly knocking him to the ground in excitement. Tōga accepted this with a warm mirth.

Yua, the last dog, smaller but still hefty, looked up at him with expectant eyes and a wagging tail.

Dismounting his horse as well, Sesshōmaru gave her a brief pat on the head before moving to tether his horse.

Seiten stood to show his respect. "Lord Tokudaiji."

"How has everything been?" Tōga asked. "I see they haven't driven you mad."

"Well," he started. "Though I was here… _longer_ than expected." He gave a nod of respect to Sesshōmaru as well, who returned it.

"We have a _long_ story to explain our absence," Tōga said. "There's been a change of plans. We'll be traveling to Asano castle instead."

Seiten blinked in confusion. "Tonight?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Sesshōmaru repeated, turning to look at the pair.

"What's the rush? An anxious arrival will draw even more attention to our already unexpected one," Tōga replied.

Seiten glanced at Sesshōmaru, lost. Sesshōmaru frowned.

"Besides," the Great Lord continued, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed at his horse's hoof, "we'll have to make another stop when we reach the city—Sai Hu's shoe is loose."

"Perhaps it is the horse that needs to be replaced, not the shoe," Sesshōmaru said wryly.

Sai Hu huffed. Tōga's eyes shot towards him, offended.

"Sai Hu is a strong horse. He's been with me through every expedition and every battle—and I have yet to lose, mind you," he stated, running his fingers through Sai Hu's shiny black mane. "I'd be hard-pressed to find another as loyal as him."

"No sane man would use a horse for that long," Sesshōmaru argued. "He'll probably drop dead at any moment."

Seiten chimed in. "It's useless. I've been trying to persuade him for ten years."

"I assure you borth: Sai Hu is as healthy as I am," Tōga said. "Who knows? Perhaps he'll even outlive me."

* * *

The medallion was magic. It had to be.

When the Inu no Taisho had first bequeathed it to her, she had failed to fully grasp its significance. But it was the effect it had on strangers—the stuttering of the merchant, the wide-eyes of the shopkeeper, the clumsiness of the others she had showed it to as the hastened to fulfill her requests—that really left her in awe.

After leaving Shinmaki, she had hitched many more rides with various travelers or caravans until she finally made it to a fork in the path that would end her latest wagon ride.

Her feet and ankles ached from the travel, and her thighs and calves burned from overuse. The constant walking and decision to forgo sleep in favor of overnight travel had left her exhausted. When she had finally sat down to eat some leftovers from the city, she was unsure if she would be able to will herself up again.

Aside from the shopkeepers helpful pointer, she had no idea where Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru would be. The people she had traveled with were either too awed or simply unable to help her in this regard. For all she knew, they could have stayed from the path long ago. But she didn't come this far only to give up hope now.

Rin released a soft sigh, breathing in the new air around her. It was morning again, and sunlight streamed gently through the forest canopy. The ground was wet with summer dew, cooling her legs as she sat against the base of the tree.

She had no idea how far she was from the village now. She wondered how it was like now that she was gone—if they had retrieved Gojo and Kahei's bodies from Yobetsu for a proper burial, how the men were spending their time now that she was no longer there to entertain them, how the women felt now that their husbands had no other female bodies to brutalize instead.

She thought of her mother's comb, buried under the ashes of her squalid hut, if it hadn't been consumed in the flames as well. The final memento of her family, destroyed by hatred. How could she possibly face her brother without it, if she even found him?

The quick rustle of the bushes disrupted her reverie.

Rin's core instinctually tightened, preparing her body for flight at the first possible sign of danger. As silly as it sounded, she had been so fueled by the desire to catch up with the two nobles that the threat of wildlife had never once occurred to her.

Another movement, more noise. Her breath hitched, if only for a second. Then, as if the universe meant to show her how silly she truly was, a rabbit burst forth from the dark-green underbrush, gazing at her with bright and curious eyes. She sighed, allowing her body to fall against the thick trunk of a nearby tree.

But, as always, this relaxation was short lived.

An arrow hissed past her, its sharp head embedding itself next to her ear and within the tree trunk. There was no time to be shocked—a fearsome beast, large and certainly far heavier than she, burst from the bushes that the rabbit had once taken shelter beneath. Angrily, it nipped at her feet, forcing her further against the tree.

Rin screamed.

"Yua!" A familiar disembodied low voiced called out from the distance.

Lo and behold, in the next minute, Sesshōmaru emerged from the shadows and leaves of the forest, what few bits of sunlight that streamed through the canopy of trees spottily reflecting from his long white hair and shrouding him in a glowy haze. Nothing had changed in him since they last saw each other—his appearance was still pristine and princely, and he still walked with an assured, high-born gait, as if he expected everything in the world to step aside for him. In his hand he held a bow far taller than even him, the long arrows peaking over his shoulder from around his back.

She had never been so happy to see someone in her life.

For Sesshōmaru, the opposite was true. Any concern he had for the safety of the stranger Yua was possibly attacking faded from his face when he realized that it was no stranger at all, but her, the village girl he had tried to leave behind, yet another obstacle.

His lips curled as he spoke, and his eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

She couldn't give an immediate response. The beast—or Yua, as Sesshōmaru had called it—was inspecting her, sniffing her _everywhere_ —she switched back and forth between stopping the dog from invading some of her more private areas and licking her face.

There was more rustling in the distance, and the heavy crunch of boots in the grass.

The Inu no Taisho had arrived, summoned by the terrified scream and hoping his dog and his son didn't accidentally slaughter a person instead of an animal.

"Yua! _Down_." He spoke, his voice as hard as iron.

Yua obeyed, taking three large steps back to Sesshōmaru's side.

Lord Tōga assessed the scene, looking first at Rin, then at Sesshōmaru, and then at the long arrow lodged into the tree mere centimeters next to Rin's head. Swiftly, he moved to Rin's side, pulled the arrow out of the tree, and wordlessly tossed it towards his son. Without missing a beat, Sesshōmaru caught it and returned it to the yebira at his back.

"What are you doing so far from the village?" Tōga turned to her, surprised but not unkind. "Hell, how'd you get out here?"

"I changed my mind." Rin decided it would be best if she omitted how she came to that conclusion. She told him the details of her journey—mostly just walking and hitching a ride when she could with various travelers.

At that speed they were going and the breaks they had taken during the storm and the night before, it was simple to catch up with them. Finding their exact location, however, had been a matter of chance, incredible fortune on Rin's side and bad luck on Sesshōmaru's.

Lord Tōga readily expressed his joy. "We're glad to have you, then."

Their encampment hadn't been far from the clear patch of forest where they had found her. Another five minute walk—infinitely kinder to her feet than the previous portion of her journey—led her to the other side of the valley where they had set up for the night prior. Ashes marked the area where a fire had once been. Surrounded this dark circle were three tatami mats. Three large horses—Sai Hu included—had been tethered to a nearby tree. With them was a man, brushing one horse and checking it for any ailments. Two dogs, larger than even Yua, were aggressively playing with each other in the grass.

It was less luxurious, more down-to-earth than what she had initially imagined. When merchants or the lesser aristocracy had set up camp outside Yobetsu, they did so in a grand display, with fine-fabric tents and a multitude of guards and servants at their disposals.

"Seiten!" Tōga called out.

The man turned away from the horses. He had a heavier build, all height and broad shoulders. His hair was short and dark, with sharp sideburns that framed his square face well. He was definitely far older than her and Sesshōmaru, though still a few years younger than the Inu no Taisho. At the sound of his name, his eyes twinkled with mirth as if he were about to make a jest, then filled with bewilderment upon seeing her.

He glanced at Sesshōmaru. Sesshōmaru grimaced.

"…Lord Tokudaiji?"

"This is Rin," he explained, nodding at the young woman in question. "She saved my skin in Yobetsu."

Then, turning to Rin, he said. "Rin, this is Seiten from the Yanagisawa clan. He's been my right hand for over two decades."

Seiten gave her a slight bow out of respect, despite the wariness and mild confusion of his tone. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she replied softly.

"And those knuckleheads are Tai and Shui," he gestured towards the massive dogs off playing to the side. "And, of course, you've already met Yua."

Yua had left Sesshōmaru's side and was now eagerly running towards Tai and Shui.

Rin was led towards the tatami mats, and told to sit. She obeyed.

"Are you hungry at all?" The Western Lord asked.

Rin's mind wandered back to the animal carcass at Sesshōmaru's back. She shook her head quickly.

Tōga held up a pouch and shook it. Liquid jostled around inside. "Water?"

She nodded, and took the waterskin in her hands.

A large, furry white head suddenly rested itself on her lap, causing her to jolt. The dog named Yua was there, looking up at her with seemingly apologetic brown eyes.

"She's still young—still somewhat a pup," Tōga explained. "A bit rambunctious, but nothing to fear."

Yua was the largest 'puppy' that Rin had ever seen in her life. Still, she did look nicer now than she had in the forest, with her ears folded slightly backwards and her sparkling brown eyes. Rin relaxed, and slowly slipped from the pouch.

"I'm amazed, truly. First the inn, and now this," the man lauded deeply. "It seems as if the gods have blessed you with a superb sense of direction. Or, perhaps, a streak of good fortune."

Rin had never considered herself fortunate before. But, considering she could be far worse off, perhaps he was correct.

"What made you come after us?" He asked. "Did you find them then? The individual you were waiting for?"

She hesitated. The painful memories filled her head again—the mob, the rocks, the fire. It was all too…humiliated to tell him, especially after she had rejected his offer.

"I changed my mind," she said, wiping her mouth with her sleeves. "…perhaps, if he hasn't returned by now, there's no use in waiting any longer."

Partially true. Now that she was free, she realized that the painful familiarity of the village had left her stagnant for far too long. But with Sesshōmaru around, as well as this other unfamiliar man, she didn't want to make her request, at least not yet.

Tōga's light-hearted expression seemed to fall at this. He frowned, and turned away.

* * *

Rin was asleep in no time, curled up on the ground with Yua—also asleep—politely providing herself as a makeshift pillow.

The three men merely watched her, each filled with a different emotion—Lord Tōga with fascination, Seiten with confusion, and Sesshōmaru with utter annoyance.

"Now," Seiten breathed, "I feel like this would be the perfect time to inform me of the events of the last few days."

Tōga turned away from the sleeping girl and towards his long-time companion. "The meeting with Lord Kusakabe went south. He and his men were found dead in the courtyard of the Ishida inn. Also, half of it exploded."

Seiten's eyes widened. "A planned hit, then? On both of you?"

"Precisely. Two village boys and an inn maid were prosecuted, and hastily. I just gotten some decent information out of the maid before we left. It's most certainly connected to the Kusakabe's letter and Asano's sudden death."

"And here I thought these long conspiracies would be left behind with the last war," Seiten sighed and stared up into the sky. "Who's the girl?"

Tōga smiled. "She helped me survive the explosion."

"Barely," Sesshōmaru added, cynically. "You and her just happened to leave the room before it occurred."

"Still an extraordinary stroke of luck," Tōga defended his view. "You both owe her quite a lot. I might have been blown to bits had I never met her."

Seiten glanced at her again, hesitantly noting her sallow skin and bony physique. "Is she ill?"

Sesshōmaru huffed. "She's a starving village whore. "

Rin seemed to stir at this, albeit slightly. Tōga glared at his rude son.

"Watch it," Tōga warned, "she may be able to help us. I'd like her to act as your maid while we're at Asano castle."

A maid? The thought of her being the maid of the Tokudaiji household was absurd. Surely Lady Tokudaiji, who took great pride in how she managed Inujima, would be insulted if she knew.

"I doubt she has an ounce of grace in her body," Sesshōmaru stated.

"Now, now, I'm not going to send her into battle without training," Tōga said. "I'll be sure to give her a few pointers on the way there. As long as you," he turned to Sesshōmaru this time, "can act properly around her, all will go well."

* * *

The sun was directly above them when she finally began to wake up, her face buried in Yua's soft fur in lieu of the ground or the itchy, straw mat she was accustomed to.

It was all real. Butterflies filled her stomach, and she exhaled a deep breath for some relief. She was really traveling with Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru, forever free of the horrors of abjection in the village.

"Good afternoon," Tōga bellowed from behind her.

Rin pushed her hair out of her face, pushed herself into a sitting position, and looked up into his face. Tōga knelt down to meet her.

"You crashed completely," he jested, reaching out to rub Yua's back. She rolled over, bearing her stomach. "It'd do you some good to sleep lightly while you're traveling with us."

Rin blushed and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry."

She looked around. Seiten was packing the remainder of his belongings onto his horse. Sesshōmaru, this time with Shui and Tai, had disappeared into the forest yet again.

"Are we leaving soon?"

"Yes," Tōga said. "We should arrive in Asagawa tomorrow evening or the morning after that."

Rin nodded. A day and a half of travel? She was just now able to wiggle her toes without feeling pain. But she knew that if she wanted to travel with them without being a burden, she would have to grow stronger and get used to things like this.

He offered her a hand. She took it, and they both stood.

"Rin?"

She hummed.

Lord Tōga smiled. "Would you mind doing us a _small_ favor?"

* * *

 **a/n:** Well, that's that for now~! Rin's finally with Sesshomaru and Lord Toga (for the foreseeable future). Hopefully, she fares well ;^)

I'd apologize for taking so long yet again, but at this point it's becoming redundant! I meant to have this done by Valentine's Day but got lazy, so that didn't happen. Then, Spring Break went by without me even touching this document. But it's here now, so I hope you enjoy it.

One more thing: how do you guys feel about these long chapters? Should I try to split them up or go with the flow? If I split them up into shorter increments, you all _might_ get to read them faster (for example, I had the opening scene between Sesshomaru and the Inu no Taisho done all the way back in January-but again, strong emphasis on _might)._ However, I feel like these long chapters seem to be more complete and to the point.

As always, be sure to like and leave a review!


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